Foreign Beggars

The London-based Foreign Beggars make hip-hop, grime, and dubstep. The band, formed in 2002, comprises MCs Orifice Vulgatron (Pavan Mukhi) and Metropolis (Ebow Graham), as well as producer Dag Nabbit and DJ NoNames. The group also regularly performs and records with beatboxers Schlomo, MC Zani, and THePETEBOX, as well as rappers Dr. Syntax and Kyza. Almost all of Foreign Beggars’ output is collaborative. This enables the group to cover a wide range of styles, including forays into drum’n’bass with Dutch act Noisia. Orifice Vulgatron and Dag Nabbit met in Dubai in 1993, when the pair were playing in various rock and metal bands. They formed a hip-hop group around 1996-1997 and started hosting and promoting raves and parties. They went their separate ways in 1998 but soon regrouped in London, where they set up a recording studio and continued promoting events. Metropolis and DJ NoNames met at university in 2000, and NoNames met Orifice Vulgatron while he was doing the lighting and sound for a production of The Wizard of Oz. Coming together to form Foreign Beggars a few years later, they also formed their own label, Dented Records, to release their material, as well as that of other U.K. underground acts. In 2003, Foreign Beggars released their first single, “Where Did the Sun Go”/“Season’s Beatings,” followed later that year by their debut album, Asylum Speakers, in which almost every track featured a collaboration. Shortly before the release of their second full-length album, the band released a B-sides/rarities mixtape, Bukkake Ski Trip, mixed by DJ NoNames. Darker than their first album, proper follow-up Stray Point Agenda, with guest appearances from the likes of Dudley Perkins and DJ Vadim, was out by the end of 2006. This was a successful period for the group, who won Best New Act at the MOBOs and Best Group at the Lyric Pad Hip-Hop Awards. United Colours of Beggattron (2009) was Foreign Beggars’ most varied and complete album up to that point. Production came from Noisia and Ghosttown which, as well as adding to the record’s sound, also helped to raise the band’s profile, ultimately leading to a track they recorded with Noisia being featured in E4′s popular drama Skins. Foreign Beggars toured extensively throughout 2010, with the exposure bringing them bigger shows while they supported the likes of the Prodigy, De La Soul, and Snoop Dogg, as well as playing a number of European festivals. Deadmau5 subsequently signed the group to his Mau5trap label, where they released The Uprising (2012). Vulgatron and Metropolis continued to work with Noisia as I Am Legion and released a self-titled album (2013) on Skrillex’s OWSLA label. They followed with a mixtape, Peak Season, in 2014 before releasing an official EP, 2015′s Modus, which featured Eprom, Alix Perez, and Riko Dan; the majority was recorded in L.A. except for Riko Dan’s guest vocals, which were recorded at a later date in London. Their next EP, The Bits, saw Machinedrum and Fracture contribute productions, and included a guest feature from Ocean Wisdom. The following year Foreign Beggars teamed up with Monster Florence with the intention of recording a conceptual EP; both acts planned to invite smaller artists to the studio to record over a 48-hour period. In that time they managed to finish nine tracks, transforming 48 into an album, for which all proceeds were donated to helping the homeless. Their sixth full-length album, 2018′s 2 2 Karma, was a return to form for the trio yet featured a plethora of high-profile guests, including appearances from Kate Tempest, Izzie Gibbs, Flux Pavilion, and Kojey Radical. ~ Jack Semmence