Foreign Beggars

Biography
by Jack Semmence
Foreign Beggars are a London-based urban act, who make hip-hop, grime, and dubstep. The band, formed in 2002, is comprised of MCs Orifice Vulgatron and Metropolis, as well as producer Dag Nabbit and DJ NoNames. The group, who only go by pseudonyms and do not publicize their real names, also regularly perform and record with beatboxers Schlomo, MC Zani, and THePETEBOX, as well as rappers Dr Syntax and Kyza. Almost all of Foreign Beggars' output features collaborations of one kind or another, and this variety leads to the group being able to cover a wide range of genres, including forays into drum‘n'bass with Dutch act Noisia.
Orifice Vulgatron and Dag Nabbit met in Dubai in 1993, when the pair were playing in various rock and metal bands. They formed a hip-hop group around 1996-1997 and started hosting and promoting raves and parties. They went their separate ways in 1998 but soon regrouped in London, where they set up a recording studio and continued promoting events. Metropolis and DJ NoNames met at university in 2000, and NoNames met Orifice Vulgatron while he was doing the lighting and sound for a production of The Wizard of Oz. Coming together to form Foreign Beggars a few years later, the group also formed their own label, Dented Records, to release their material, as well as that of other U.K. underground acts. In 2003, they released their first single, "Where Did the Sun Go"/"Season's Beatings," followed later that year by their debut album, Asylum Speakers, in which almost every track featured a collaboration.
Shortly before the release of their second full-length album, 2006's Stray Point Agenda, the band released the controversial B-sides/rarities mixtape Bukkake Ski Trip, which was mixed by DJ NoNames. Stray Point Agenda was darker than their first album, and featured guest production from California-based Oh No. As is standard procedure for the band, this album is also largely comprised of collaborations. This was a successful period for the group, with Stray Point Agenda following soon after the Beggars won Best New Act at the 2004 MOBOs, and Best Group at the 2005 Lyric Pad Hip-Hop Awards.
2009 saw the release of United Colours of Beggattron, Foreign Beggars' most varied and complete album up to that point. Production came from Noisia and Ghosttown which, as well as adding to the record's sound, also helped to raise the band's profile, ultimately leading to a track which they recorded with Noisia being featured in E4's popular drama Skins. Another track recorded with Noisia was "Contact," which was turned into a video and viewed by over two-million people. The group toured extensively throughout 2010, with the exposure bringing them bigger shows while they supported the likes of the Prodigy, De La Soul, and Snoop Dogg, as well as playing a number of European festivals.