After four years, Jenna left the group and began a residency at a night called Eardrum at DryBar which made her a name as a vocalist and MC. Singing with the bands at underground gigs introduced Jenna G to Darren and 2D, a drum & bass DJ and producer team called Future Cut, who were looking for a singer.
The drum and bass trio Un-Cut was formed in 2000. A track called Borderline appeared on a Future Cut EP for Renegade Hardware and the response to it was incredible. What followed was a three year process of experimenting with ideas. Uncut's first white label Midnight sold out of its 10,000 copy run within weeks and drew a lot of attention from the music industry. In 2001 Un-Cut signed to EMI publishing and in June that year they signed to Warner's M Records. Their debut album came out in July 2003 with the re-release of its first single Midnight.
After the band split, Jenna G continued singing and writing songs for EMI publishing which saw her working with So Solid's JD, Danni Minogue and Aleesha Dixon amongst others. It was during this time in London that she was picked up by the BBC's black music radio station, 1Xtra.
Jenna first visited 1Xtra in the summer of 2003 with Uncut. She walked through the doors again in June 2004, not as an artist but as a DJ this time, broadcasting for a month on the Xtra Talent slot on Sunday nights/Monday mornings. 1Xtra was impressed by Jenna's presenting skills and put her together with Twin B, a Ministry records A&R man and mixtape producer from East London. The pair clicked immediately and in August 2004 Twin B and Jenna G gained a Saturday afternoon slot (12noon-2.00pm), a music show which sees grimy East London meet the soul of the north-west. Jenna G features on every DnB song accompanied with female vocals.
In music Jenna is well known for her vocal and writing talents on a number of distinguished underground tracks in a number of genres but more prolifically in Drum n Bass, the genre of her own highly successful first solo album For Lost Friends released on the Bingo Beats record label March 2006. Tracks from the album were produced by a variety of prominent drum and bass producers such as Nu:tone, Kabuki, Friction, D Bridge, D KAY and TC1.
Having gained a solo spot on the BBC's 1Xtra 2 years back, Jenna can be found every weekend morning bringing you a jam packed show of the best in black music, entertainment and a live listener generated request show. Guests on her film feature Lights Camera Action which airs every Saturday have included Beyonce, Quentin Tarantino, Josh Hartnett, Common, Paul Giamatti, Simon Pegg and Eli Roth to name a few. Her exploits in the press pits at premieres have caught the attention of Hugh Grant, Tenacious D, Drew Barrymore, Daniel Radcliffe, Sienna Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer and so many more! Check out the 1Xtra website for past interviews and pictures.
Jenna G is currently the official vocalist for The Shapeshifters having appeared on their first album as songwriter and backing vocalist. The new album Do Not Disturb which features her songwriting and vocal talents is set for release in 2008 and has already spawned 2 releases 'Pusher' & 'New Day'
On June 20, 2008 she along with Carrie Davis, Dev Griffin, Nick Grimshaw, Greg James, Aled Jones, Scott Mills and Dave Vitty sat the Radio 1 Maths Exam. Mark Chapman was due to sit the exam but pulled out at the last minute. The exam was an official GCSE Higher Maths Paper and they will receive their results in August along with everyone else.
Mic check
Jenna G Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now in a state of mind
where your letting the music think
straight no hesitate
keeping that rhythm and structure
your turning me on to something
drums baby
steady on the beat
coming up on this right now
mic's checkin
Hey ladies are you getting this sound in ya monitor
Ôyes we giving thumbs up
keep kickin ill keep singing
shows in a minute bass the only thing that's missing baby
hes ready, jus waiting for the round
everybody get together cause he's coming in right now
Sound check, you best to check the sound
we go from low to loud, filter the clicks them out
sound check you best to check the sound
filter the clicks them out to best perfect the sound
Hey we're going again
they ain't finished turning the dials
making clear how we doing this
live baby tonight
we do it all proper get hot for this
we're warming up to it
keys my boy
where the hell you been?
man you late coming in
better do something special with it
open now
yeah everybody's flowin'
his thing steady rollin come one girls drop a vocal
I know you know we catch all flows
You know we know I catch all flows
Know we catch all flows you and i
We're coming round another time
Technical sound it right for my people
Make every kick riff guitar lick just lethal
Want the words to be clear with the reverb
turned down
Let the music speak loud and drown out the crowd
The lyrics of Jenna G's song "Mic Check" speak to the process of preparing for a performance, both musically and technically. The song starts with a call to play the guitar and sets the scene for preparing to perform, with the lyrics "Now in a state of mind where your letting the music think straight no hesitate keeping that rhythm and structure your turning me on to something." The song is all about feeling the music and getting in sync with the other musicians, highlighted by lines like "drums baby steady on the beat ready for a lil' skit." The song also touches on the importance of technical preparation, with lyrics like "sound check, you best to check the sound, filter the clicks them out to best perfect the sound."
In addition to speaking to the process of preparing for a performance, the song also emphasizes the importance of working together as a team. The chorus emphasizes this, with the lyrics "Hey ladies are you getting this sound in ya monitor Ôyes we giving thumbs up keep kickin ill keep singing shows in a minute bass the only thing that's missing baby hes ready, jus waiting for the round everybody get together cause he's coming in right now." The song also features lyrics about different instruments and their importance, highlighting that each member of the band has a unique role to play in making the performance successful.
Line by Line Meaning
Play guitar yeah play
Let's start playing guitar and making some music.
Now in a state of mind where your letting the music think
We're in a mindset where we're letting the music guide us and be creative.
straight no hesitate keeping that rhythm and structure
We're keeping the rhythm and structure of the music without hesitation.
your turning me on to something drums baby steady on the beat
The drums are making me feel something special and they're keeping a steady beat.
ready for a lil' skit coming up on this right now
We're ready for a little performance or joke that's coming up soon.
mic's checkin Hey ladies are you getting this sound in ya monitor Ôyes we giving thumbs up
We're checking the microphones and asking the ladies if they're hearing the sound in their monitors. They confirm with a thumbs up.
keep kickin ill keep singing shows in a minute bass the only thing that's missing baby
Let's keep playing and I'll keep singing. A show is coming up soon, and the only thing missing is the bass.
hes ready, jus waiting for the round everybody get together cause he's coming in right now
The bass player is ready and waiting for his turn to join in. We should get together and prepare because he's starting now.
Sound check, you best to check the sound we go from low to loud, filter the clicks them out
During the sound check, we need to make sure the sound is good. We'll start from low volume and increase to high. We'll also filter out unwanted clicking sounds.
sound check you best to check the sound filter the clicks them out to best perfect the sound
We need to keep checking the sound and try to perfect it by filtering out any unwanted clicking sounds.
Hey we're going again they ain't finished turning the dials
We're starting again, but the sound technicians haven't finished adjusting the settings.
making clear how we doing this live baby tonight we do it all proper get hot for this
We're making it clear that we're performing live tonight and we're doing it all properly. Get ready for something exciting!
we're warming up to it keys my boy where the hell you been? man you late coming in better do something special with it open now
We're warming up to the music and the keyboardist finally arrives, but he's late. He needs to do something special with his performance now that he's arrived and ready to play.
yeah everybody's flowin' his thing steady rollin come one girls drop a vocal
Everyone is performing well and the music is flowing nicely. It's time for the girls to contribute their vocal parts.
I know you know we catch all flows You know we know I catch all flows Know we catch all flows you and i We're coming round another time
We both know that we can catch every flow that comes our way. We're coming back around for another round.
Technical sound it right for my people Make every kick riff guitar lick just lethal Want the words to be clear with the reverb
We want the sound to be perfect for our fans. We want every kick, guitar riff, and lick to make an impact. We also want the words to be clear, enhanced by the reverb effect.
Contributed by Andrew Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.