Us3 is a British jazz rap group founded by London-based producer Geoff Wilkinson in 1992.

The name was inspired by Us Three, a Horace Parlan album produced in 1960 by Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note Records. Us3's debut album, Hand on the Torch, used samples from Blue Note songs produced by Lion.

Wilkinson established Us3 with production partner Mel Simpson.

In 2025, Us3 released Soundtrack, a studio album consisting of a cinematic mix of trap rhythms with big band orchestration, including tracks inspired by Gil Evans and Don Ellis.

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ List of albums, with selected chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year

! scope="col" colspan="9"| Peak chart positions

|-

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUT<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US<br />R&B/HH<br />

|-

! scope="row"| Hand on the Torch

| 1993

| 40 || 51 || 11 || 29 || 81 || 28 || 21 || 31 || 21

|-

! scope="row"| Broadway & 52nd

| 1997

| 93 || 90 || 28 || 80 || 91 || 39 || 48 || — || 90

|-

! scope="row"| An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place

| 2001

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| Questions

| 2004

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| Schizophonic

| 2006

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| Say What!?

| 2007

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| Stop. Think. Run.

| 2009

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| Lie, Cheat & Steal

| 2011

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| The Third Way

| 2013

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| Soundtrack

| 2025

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions

! rowspan="2" style="width:24em;"| Title

! rowspan="2"| Year

! colspan="10"| Peak positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

|-

! width="35"| <small>UK</small><br />

! width="35"| <small>AUS</small><br />

! width="35"| <small>AUT</small><br />

! width="35"| <small>BEL<br />(FL)</small><br />

! width="35"| <small>NLD</small><br />

! width="35"| <small>NZ</small><br />

! width="35"| <small>SWI</small><br />

! width="35"| <small>US</small><br>

! width="35"| <small>US<br>R&B</small><br>

|-

! scope="row"| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)"

| 1992

| 76 || 32 || 3 || 24 || 22 || 18 || 16 || 7 || 9 || 21

| align="left" rowspan="5"| Hand on the Torch

|-

! scope="row"| "Tukka Yoot's Riddim"

| rowspan="2"|1993

| 34 || — || 24 || — || 97 || — || 28 || 26 || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" <small>(UK reissue)</small>

| 23 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| "I Got It Goin' On"

| rowspan="2"|1994

| 52 || — || — || — || — || — || 39 || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| "Eleven Long Years"

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| "Come on Everybody (Get Down)"

| rowspan="2"|1997

| 38 || — || — || — || — || — || — || 49 || — || —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| Broadway & 52nd

|-

! scope="row"| "I'm Thinking About Your Body"

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| "You Can't Hold Me Down"

| 2001

| 94 || — || — || — || — || 98 || — || — || — || —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place

|-

! scope="row"| "Get Out"

| 2002

| 174 || — || — || — || — || 97 || — || — || — || —

|-

! scope="row"| "Say You Belong to Me"

| 2007

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

| align="left"| Say What!?

|-

| align="center" colspan="14" style="font-size:85%"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

|}

References

Other sources

  • Radio interview with Us3 founder Geoff Wilkinson on Kiss FM February 1992 Us3 Founder Geoff Wilkinson and Born 2 B, Kiss FM London 1992 - Play on N1M
  • Ninja Tune - Two decades of mixes and mash-ups
  • The Us3 YouTube channel
  • Us3 on Instagram
  • Innerviews' 2025 audio interview with Geoff Wilkinson
  • Innerviews' 2009 interview with Geoff Wilkinson
  • "Jazz and Hip-Hop: Can They Really Mix?" by Jared Pauley, (Jazz.com)