Artists from the UK R’n’B scene have always struggled to make a name for themselves in the music industry. The lucky few who have created successful careers have had to go stateside and hope their talents are appreciated.
It leads me to question, why does the UK sleep on R’n’B?
“Black R’n’B singers have had a harder time than rappers, as they are a lot more expensive to develop and require more budget on their marketing. There wasn’t enough A&R experience within the record labels to manage developing black singers. Black rappers have had a golden era since 2016 to 2023, as it’s cheaper to buy a beat from YouTube and record in their bedroom, without any real training; add social media virality into it, and there’s a greater chance of success.
In 2022, major record labels began aggressively shutting black label imprints and sacking black executives. I believe that 60-70% of Senior A&R/Director level executives are out of work or are working independently. There’s a lack of infrastructure and changing cultural shifts. The cycles have shifted to more mainstream pop and emerging K Pop.”
– Chris Hunte, Ex-A&R
The noughties were a time when the UK ‘urban’ music scene was thriving organically and on a national scale. Music television played a big part in the traction and popularity of both local and international artists.
The 2000s were known for the era of both boy groups and girl groups, and the UK had its fair share of homegrown talent. Yet today, these artists all sit in the same boat of being some of the best, but only for a short and sweet amount of time.
The musical trio Fun*dmental 03 emerged onto the scene in 2005, where Jermaine, Kyle and Baby V became the UK’s answer to B2K. As talented as the group was, their journey was unfortunately cut short, and until now, their story has never been shared publicly.
“I was 19 years old, on the cusp of 20. I was taken aback by the fact that I was now the person on the screen, and the title card at the bottom was saying my group’s name.”
I spoke to the group’s former leader – writer, artist and comic book creator, Jermaine Riley, who gave me insight into the group’s rise to stardom, his journey as a solo artist and everything in between.
Fun*damental 03 was a group that gained popularity fast and organically during a time when social media wasn’t as fruitful and not a set staple within pop culture and society.
“In terms of being on top of the MTV Base charts. I think it was like 23 or 26 weeks combined between the two singles. I think ‘Jump’ was on there for 10, “Playground” was 13. Every week, number 1. It was when the fans’ votes counted.”
Fun*dmental 03 were signed to Norwegian record Da Works and spotted by Jazz Black, a reputable member of the music industry, who had managed Nate James and several members from the group Damage.
At this time, Jazz Black was the head of the label’s British subsidiary. Jermaine recalls everything happening quickly.
He (Jazz Black) had a history of groups, that’s all we knew, and you have to understand that we were so young and thought – where’s the next stage? We didn’t really care about the ins and outs. All we wanted was an opportunity to prove ourselves; whatever came before us didn’t matter.”
“So, it didn’t take long for us to sign. It gave us an advance, a monthly thing that would take care of us. It allowed us to rehearse, eat and buy new clothes.”
Just 2 years later, Fun*dmental were stateside, performing and recording their first full album, whilst signed to Interscope/Geffen.
Jermaine recalled the period of events that led them to America.
“We were seen internationally by a guy named Big Tank, not Tank the artist, but another A&R from Geffen/Interscope at the time. He (Big Tank) said, ‘Yeah, I’ve seen you guys. I’ve seen what you guys are doing over there. I’d love them to come over and I’d like to sign them.’ ”
Their popularity remained strong in the UK and grew fast in the US; what happened next was completely unexpected.
The music industry can be cut-throat, and logistics can often throw a spanner in the works. Fun*dmental were now known as FDM, and their golden ticket to success was sadly snatched away. Several rumours were floating around as to why FDM were dropped.
Jermaine was amused by the rumours and the alleged incidents that I told him about, and quite frankly, the reason was less dramatic than everyone thought!
“It was around a period of time when 60% of the staff (from Interscope/Geffen) were fired; they had made cuts, and our A&R who signed us was cut from the label.”
Upon their return to the UK, FDM continued to do what they did best, live shows and staying in touch with their online community. They released their Mixtape ‘The Pudding’, which was their gift to the fans.
Jermaine said, “ ‘The Pudding’ had come out and it got a lot of love online, which was quite emotional for us because we weren’t sure that people still had our backs like that. The UK was still rallying behind us. We felt like ‘The Pudding’ was us proving ourselves. ‘The proof was in the pudding.’ ”
“We hit a brick wall; we were doing shows that we didn’t really want to do, and we were stagnating. Then we did ‘Must Be the Music’ (Sky 1, 2010). That went terribly wrong. We didn’t get eliminated; they just decided not to have us back, even though our second round went well.”
As the leader of the group, Jermine suggested that FDM start afresh; he felt their image was becoming tarnished, as everything they did wasn’t working.
“The reason why I ended up leaving the group was because I was like, guys. God bless our manager and everything that he did for us, but he doesn’t know what to do with this now. So, unless we start again with a clean slate, with a whole new team, new management, new everything. I proposed that we do that, and the other two members didn’t want to. I told them, I can’t stay here and watch this die.”
Jermaine embarked on his solo career, unsigned and independent, from 2008 to 2020. His mixtapes and albums were all recorded in his bedroom and consisted of a range of “refixes” (covers). He then released his debut solo album, ‘Hello Earth’, in 2012; this was a continuation of his ongoing Superman theme.
All songs were written, arranged, engineered and executive produced by Jermaine himself. The album was distributed internationally as Jermaine had signed with a distribution company, and the album did extremely well in Japan. He was then flown out to South Korea, where he was given a ‘UK R&B Pioneer’ award.
I wondered if Jermaine would ever make music again. He said he felt he gave so much as a solo artist but wasn’t receiving the reception that he should of. He embarked on a project where he aimed to release one song per week for a year.
“Maybe you guys are desensitised by the consistency of what I’m doing. I don’t know what it is. But you know, no labels are knocking on my door even though I’m doing something that no one else is. That’s when I was like, okay, cool…
I was writing a new song every week, recording it, mixing it, and having it ready for 6 PM every Friday. I could do this with my eyes closed! But then I got to 20 songs, and everyone around me was like, you can’t just keep giving these songs away. You’re just throwing them on the Internet for free. My SoundCloud was picking up, and I got to a million plays.”
I asked him if he thought coming out as a gay man reduced his audience support in his music.
“I don’t think it’s affected me whatsoever, in the creative side of things. Before I came out, I was already ranting about injustice against my artistry. People were still streaming up the ting [sic] on my SoundCloud and following me. I went through a whole liberating time on Instagram where I was just posting up half-naked pictures (of himself), because I was just feeling myself, feeling my sexuality; and I think when people connect with you on an artistic level, and the stuff that you do is good, no one cares.”
Jermaine often used heterosexual narratives in his music when referring to a love interest but then shifted to using both “boy and “girl” later, and I questioned if his sexuality was fluid. He explained that he did “whatever felt natural” when writing his lyrics; this determined the pronouns.
“Yeah, I would say, I am (bisexual), but I don’t lean into it because that’s a whole other conversation. It’s just an easier, more palatable thing to say, I’m gay.”
His current ventures are outside of music, but still familiar to those who know of his graphic design talent.
Jermaine and his business partner Glenn ‘Pulse’ Murphy (Britain’s Got Talent) are co-creators of their self-published comic book series ‘Extra Man.’ In-house under their independent, indie comic book publishing company, ‘Kindred Comics. ’
‘Extra Man’ is a black superhero inspired by the events in the USA that created the Black Lives Matter movement. Jermaine expressed that the images of the death of George Floyd and other African Americans “really affected me and stuck with me.”
“I thought, let me create my own superhero since I have the iPad and the pencil here. I got working on it and thought, what’s his back story? It posed the question, who is it that black people call if the police are licking us down? We need a superhero at this point.”
‘Extra Man’ issues 1-3 are available now, and Jermaine plans to release issues 4 and 5 by the end of 2025.
Jermaine planned to tour with a band in 2020 to promote his album ‘Mistakes’, but this didn’t happen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After releasing a cover of ‘Residuals’ by Chris Brown in March 2025, Jermaine says he now “has the itch” to start making music again.
“It is definitely time, and the ‘Residuals’ challenge really highlighted to me that I’m still locked in. There’s a whole album ready.”
You can follow Jermaine on Instagram for the latest updates.
