A platform for MC Fusion, rap group Credit to the Nation managed modest hits in their native Britain during the '90s and reactivated during the 2010s. The group initially comprised Fusion (born Matty Hanson in 1971, Wednesbury, West Midlands) along with a pair of dancers and occasional vocalists, T-Swing and Mista-G. Fusion's lyrics were simplistic and his rapping style rather straightforward. Still, his themes were unabashedly important, and his tracks took on racism ("Rising Tide") and sexism ("Lady Needs Respect"), nearly every one a direct commentary on issues of the day. The group made their recorded debut in 1991 with "Pay the Price," released on Chumbawamba's Agit Prop label, and subsequently signed with the larger One Little Indian. During mid-1993, "Call It What You Want" became their first charting single, thanks in large part to its obvious hook -- stolen from Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Debut album Take Dis followed by the end of the year, and an early 1994 single, "Teenage Sensation," reached number 24 on the U.K. chart -- the group's biggest hit. A second album, Daddy Always Wanted Me to Grow a Pair of Wings, didn't fare as well, and a brief 1998 comeback with "Tacky Love Song," which sampled Radiohead's "High and Dry," failed to regain momentum. In the late 2000s, Fusion reactivated the group on Crossflow Recordings with "RTA," featuring Chuck D. An EP containing an appearance from Brand Nubian's Sadat X, Back to the Dirt, followed in late 2015 and preceded the third proper Credit to the Nation album. ~ John Bush & Andy Kellman, Rovi