MC Fusion) and was initially noted for fusing a conscious hip hop style with political elements taken from the British left-wing and anarchist movements.

Following their initial split in 1998, the band reformed in 2011. Credit to the Nation were formed in the early 1990s by Matthew (Matty) David Hanson (b. Wednesbury, West Midlands, England) with his friends Tyrone and Kelvin while all three were still teenagers.

Although they took strong inspiration from American acts such as Public Enemy, Credit to the Nation made no attempt to disguise their origins as second/third generation black Britons from the English Midlands: they rapped and sang in their own native accents (Brummie and West Indian patois),[1] frequently dealt with British lyrical concerns and integrated pop and ragga aspects into their music.

The two bands would maintain a close relationship, with Credit to the Nation releasing their first single ("Pay the Price") through Chumbawamba's Agit Prop record label in September 1991.

In 1992 Credit to the Nation recorded what would become their best-known song, "Call It What You Want", which sampled the iconic opening guitar riff from Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

Within a week, the band had a three-album deal with One Little Indian (the label of Björk and The Shamen) who had heard the show and promptly bought the rights to and re-released the single.

[5] However, the single had brought Credit to the Nation closer to the attention of the British indie-rock music press (Melody Maker and NME), and would also make an appearance on the soundtrack to the Jude Law movie Shopping.

The album incorporated styles from hardcore approaches reminiscent of Public Enemy and The Bomb Squad to ragga and new jack swing and drew on a selection of unusual (and frequently British-themed) sample sources including Benjamin Britten, Glenn Miller, The Sex Pistols and even the Band of the Coldstream Guards.

[9] While he continued to receive plenty of attention from the indie rock press, Hanson was less fortunate in achieving a mainstream breakthrough in the hip hop world.

His trenchant criticisms of the sexism, materialism and fetishisation of violence expressed by hardcore hip hop by acts such as Onyx and Ice-T led to backlash and rejection[7] and his own youth and talent level were subject to attack.

One memorable critical assault from reviewer Neil Kulkarni (in the usually supportive Melody Maker) directly accused him of selling out to the expectations and tastes of white audiences.

It was unclear as to precisely when Credit to the Nation formally split up, but recent press releases suggest that a version of the band was still performing live as late as 2002.

He would resurface in 2007 as the rapping frontman of a hip-hop/heavy metal band called Backup Radio with guitarist/vocalist Karl Morey, bass player David McMillan, drummer Tom Flinders and DJ Philly Blunt.

Described as "a reinvention of the signature sound" by the band in the press release for the single "RTA", it features collaborations with Chuck D of Public Enemy, Sadat X of Brand Nubian, Benji Webbe of Skindred and label mates Kinkaid and Charly Vox.