Rebel MC is the stage name of London-born producer and toaster Michael Alec Anthony West, who began in music with the Beatfreak sound system. He formed Double Trouble with Michael Menson, Karl Brown and Leigh Guest and became known under the Rebel MC name, as well as recording as Conquering Lion and Congo Natty. West has described hip-hop and reggae as major influences on his life and as shaping his path into jungle. He adopted different musical aliases partly to avoid being judged by the pop-chart success associated with Rebel MC. With Double Trouble, he released “Just Keep Rockin’” and “Street Tuff” in 1989; both reached the UK Top 20, and “Street Tuff” reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. West was born on 27 August 1964 in Islington, London.
West’s 1991 album Black Meaning Good combined hip-house and pop-rap with reggae, dub and breakbeat influences, alongside dub basslines and ragga vocals. Barrington Levy, Tenor Fly and Dennis Brown contributed to the album. In 1992, he released the singles “Rich Ah Getting Richer” and “Humanity.” By 1994, he was releasing jungle as Conquering Lion, and “Code Red” helped bring the genre to a wider British audience. During the 1990s, he ran Tribal Bass Records. His music also combined hardcore techno with dub basslines and ragga toasting, including contributions from P.P. Arnold.
West also released music as Blackstar, Tribe of Issachar, Lion of Judah, X Project and Ras Project. In the mid-1990s, he converted to Rastafarianism and changed his name to Mikail Tafari. As Congo Natty, he released Jungle Revolution in 2013, featuring General Levy, Top Cat, Tippa Irie, Tenor Fly, Young Warrior and Nãnci Correia. In 2025, Double Trouble and KAYA FYAH released “This Is Ska” and “This Is Ska (Freestylers Remix)” on RAW Music; “This is Ska (Baker Remix)” also appeared on the label.