Stevie Hyper D: calls mount for blue plaque honouring legendary jungle MC

Calls to recognise the legendary jungle MC Stevie Hyper D with a blue plaque are gaining momentum.

The trailblazing London artist born Stephen Austin emerged as a figure on the UK jungle scene in the ’90s before his death at age 31 in 1998. Last year, he was the subject of a documentary which told his story, HYPER: The Stevie Hyper D Story.

As reported in an article by the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF), Austin’s nephew Darrell Austin and Jamie Ross-Hulme — who directed the documentary — are leading the calls for a plaque to be put in place in his former hometown of Fulham.

Austin lived near his uncle, who remembers him practising at his gran’s house “most days after school” in the mid-’80s.

“Then it was more dancehall and reggae-driven stuff, but by the late 80s he’d found rave music. Jungle gave him the scope to be more lyrical because it derived from reggae and hip-hop,” he said.

HYPER: The Stevie Hyper D Story, which launched a successful Kickstarter campaign, features interviews with Andy C, Evil B (aka B Live 247), Harry Shotta, Navigator and more. 

Speaking to DJ Mag about the film last year, Darrell Austin explained that the recent jungle renaissance was a key driver behind the documentary’s creation.

“The reason why the timing is right now, is because over the last 5 years, while finalising the film we’ve seen the culture of jungle d&b really blow up to become the biggest force in UK dance music, alongside the fact that I was never really comfortable or able to open up on camera the way I have done now”, he said.

Last year, A Guy Called Gerald was honoured with a blue plaque for his role in creating the UK’s “first acid house record”, the 1988 classic ‘Voodoo Ray’.

In recent years, other blue plaques celebrating rave culture have been awarded to legendary hard house DJ Tony De Vit and the original acid house smiley design.