Brainchild of 4hero and Reinforced Records founder Marc Mac, the Visioneers project first appeared on a series of limited edition 7” vinyl releases. Marc began re-imagining his favourite hip hop beats from the golden era, retaining the feel of those extended, looping grooves whilst also re-introducing the excitement and musicianship of the records from which they were sampled: ‘Dirty Old Hip Hop’ was born. Drawing on the musical talents of Somatik and drummer Luke Parkhouse, both regulars on the 4hero sessions, this largely instrumental album also featured stunning performances from rappers Capitol A and Voice. An artist who was introduced to jazz music by his favourite hip hop beat-makers, ‘Dirty Old Hip Hop’ serves as a loving tribute to both art-forms, weaving the two together until even the most ardent purist will find it hard to define any space between. Dirty Old Hip Hop was shortlisted for Gilles Peterson‘s coveted Worldwide album of the Year award in 2006.

“Visioneers is not a band, it’s a studio project. I want to pay respect to hip hop producers like Jazzy Jeff, Jay Dee and Pete Rock for introducing me to Jazz and I needed to produce the tracks like hip hop records that sound phat in a club and not like dinner Jazz; it’s about reclaiming Jazz.” – Marc Mac, 2006[info from label]