Bomfunk MC's
| Company type | Music group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Defunct | 2005 (initially) |
| Fate | Reunion in 2018 |
| Headquarters | Finland |
Key people | Raymond Ebanks (B.O. Dubb), Jaakko Salovaara (JS16), Ismo Lappalainen (DJ Gismo) |
| Products | Hip hop and electronic music albums and singles |
| Parent | Sony Music Finland (initially), Universal Music (for third album) |
The Bomfunk MC's are a Finnish hip hop ensemble that was active between 1998 and 2005, with a reunion taking place in 2018. The group is led by rapper B.O. Dubb and features Jaakko Salovaara (JS16) as the principal producer, combining elements of hip hop and electronic music styles.
1999–2005
Their initial album, In Stereo, released under Sony Music in 1999, included hit singles such as "Freestyler", "Uprocking Beats", and "B-Boys & Flygirls". These tracks achieved significant popularity, particularly in the United Kingdom. "Uprocking Beats" reached the top position on Finnish Dance charts, while the album surpassed sales of 600,000 copies.
The single "Freestyler" emerged as Europe's best-selling track in 2000, claiming number one spots in Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, and key European countries like Germany and Italy; it also climbed to number two on UK charts. This achievement garnered them the 2000 Best Nordic Act accolade.
Their sophomore album, Burnin' Sneakers (2002), featured singles such as "Super Electric", "Live Your Life" featuring Max'C, and "(Crack It!) Something Goin' On" with Jessica Folcker. Although it did not attain the same international recognition, the album performed strongly within Finland; notably, "Something Goin' On" entered Germany’s top 10.
In September 2002, DJ Gismo exited the group and was succeeded by Riku Pentti (DJ) along with Okke Komulainen on keyboards. These new members contributed to a remix of "Back to Back".
The third studio effort, Reverse Psychology, released in 2004 through Universal Music, was preceded by singles "No Way in Hell" and "Hypnotic" featuring Elena Mady. Production duties were shared between JS16 and The Skillsters Plus One (Pentti, Komulainen, Mäkinen). While the album charted modestly in Germany, its impact was limited outside Nordic territories. Fans expressed mixed opinions partly because DJ Gismo did not participate in production despite his earlier role as a prominent scratch DJ.
In 2006, Bomfunk MC's toured university orientation events across New Zealand to promote Reverse Psychology, performing in cities such as Auckland and Wellington.
2019–present
After a period of inactivity among band members, producer and mentor JS16 continued his musical career by releasing the solo single "Rosegarden" in 2007 and maintaining success as a remixer and member of dance group Dallas Superstars.
In summer 2019, the original lineup reunited for festival appearances and introduced new songs including "Can't Runaway" and "Mic Drop." The reunion featured B.O. Dubb, DJ Gismo, and producer JS16 as an official member.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Freestyler", a newly filmed video was released in February 2019. This updated version includes original band members alongside modern touches such as substituting the Sony mini-disc player with a smartphone and incorporating contemporary dance moves. Filming took place in Belgrade, Serbia.
Members
Current members
- Raymond Ebanks (B.O.W./B.O. Dubb) – MC (1998–2005, 2019–present)
- Ismo Lappalainen (DJ Gismo) – DJ (1998–2002, 2019–present)
- Jaakko Salovaara (JS16) – producer (1998–2005, 2019–present)
Former members
- Ville Mäkinen (Mr Wily) – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1998–2005)
- Riku Pentti (DJ Infekto) – DJ (2002–2005)
- Okke Komulainen – keyboards (2002–2005)
- Ari Toikka (A.T.) – drums (1998–2005)
Albums
| Album Title | Release Information | Highest Chart Positions | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIN | AUS | AUT | GER | NLD | NOR | NZ | SWE | SWI | UK | |||||
| In Stereo |
|
1 | 24 | 11 | 13 | 35 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 12 | 33 |
| ||
| Burnin' Sneakers |
|
1 | — | — | — | — | 26 | — | 24 | — | — |
| ||
| Reverse Psychology |
|
10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" indicates albums that did not chart or were not released in the specified region. | ||||||||||||||
Singles
| Song Title | Release Year | Highest Chart Rankings | Certifications | Album Name | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIN | AUS | AUT | BEL | GER | NLD | NOR | SWE | SWI | UK | ||||
| "Uprocking Beats" | 1999 | — | 43 | 67 | 57 | 63 | — | — | 53 | — | 11 | In Stereo | |
| "B-Boys & Flygirls" | 5 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 14 | — | 3 | 20 | — |
| ||
| "Freestyler" | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| "Other Emcee's" | 2000 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Super Electric" | 2001 | 1 | 39 | 58 | — | 58 | 75 | 13 | 29 | 59 | — |
|
rowspan=4Burnin' Sneakers |
| "Live Your Life" (featuring Max'C) |
2002 | 1 | — | — | 37 | 67 | — | 4 | 6 | — | — | ||
| "(Crack It!) Something Goin' On" (featuring Jessica Folcker) |
3 | — | 19 | 31 | 10 | — | 2 | 4 | 70 | — |
| ||
| "Back to Back" (featuring Z-MC) |
12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "No Way in Hell" | 2004 | 8 | — | — | — | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | rowspan=3Reverse Psychology | |
| "Hypnotic" (featuring Elena Mady) |
1 | — | — | — | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Turn It Up" (featuring Anna Nordell) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
Music videos
- "Uprocking Beats" (1999)
- "B-Boys & Flygirls" (1999)
- "Freestyler" (1999)
- "B-Boys & Flygirls Y2K Mix" (2000)
- "Uprocking Beats JS 16 Radio Mix" (2000)
- "Super Electric" (2001)
- "Live Your Life" (2002)
- "(Crack It!) Something Goin' On" (2002)
- "Back to Back" (2002)
- "No Way in Hell" (2004)
- "Hypnotic" (2005)
- "Freestyler" (2019)