Lisa Maffia, the acclaimed singer and rapper, remains a pivotal figure in British music, best known for her central role in So Solid Crew and their iconic number one hit, "21 Seconds".
The track famously featured her then four-year-old daughter, Chelsea, who is now 29, delivering the memorable "what ya laughin’ at?"
So Solid Crew, formed in 1998, were arguably instrumental in shaping the UK garage and hip hop scene of the late 1990s and early 2000s, laying the groundwork for the emergence of grime.
Their tracks, including "They Don’t Know" and "Oh No", became staples of club nights across the country. The collective, which also counts Adolescence star actor Ashley Walters among its members, achieved significant chart success with four UK top 10 singles and a top 10 album, "They Don’t Know".
Beyond her musical contributions, the 47-year-old London-born star has diversified her career, venturing into presenting, modelling, and fashion.
In 2012, she launched her own boutique, House Of Maffia, showcasing her entrepreneurial spirit. So Solid Crew continues to perform, demonstrating their enduring appeal and lasting legacy in British music.
In fact, the group are seeing a resurgence in popularity due to a trend, which has seen Gen Z music lovers return to the music of the 1990s and 2000s, which also created high demand for a reunion for Mis-Teeq, whom Maffia considers among her best friends, with both groups being inspired by similar music.
“I would hate to say there’s no good music, but I just feel like people that are making music now have to contend with so many people in the same genre,” Maffia replies when asked why she thinks youngsters are going back to the music of the past.
“So many people (are) releasing music by a touch of a button, a track has gone out, and that’s it, it’s like they rely on whatever the audience says.
“Whereas, when I was making music… I feel like the graft and the time that people had to put in to get a record promoted was so much different, and it was so much more intense, like we did, from stickers and posters, and magazines, and cover shoots, and photo shoots, endless photo shoots and radio tours.
“We really cemented in our era, we really cemented our music to become timeless, whereas today’s music is just throw away, it’s literally put out, and then it moves on, and it’s so oversaturated.”
Maffia continues by explaining that she thinks the music of that time is also simply more catchy and memorable, as she says she “can’t remember the first track” of modern artists.
And it is her love of the music of the 1990s and 2000s which plays a big part in her latest project, her first regular radio show on Capital Xtra, Reloaded Sunday, which will feature hip hop and R&B from the decades, having previously presented in a number of guest slots.
“I’m really nervous still,” She laughs ahead of her first show, which took place on Sunday.
“I’m really nervous, and I love that, because being a musician for 25 years, I think I’ve got so used to it, it becomes a bit static sometimes, or boring, and with the show, it’s given me that new anxiety of excitement, so those nerves I really welcome…
“I’ve got so used to it, it feels like just a normal day job now, where with the radio, with my Reloaded Sundays, it makes me very excited every Sunday, I’m like, ‘ok, what am I going to say this week, what music am I going to play?’
“So, it’s a great new lease of life that I’ve been given.
“Every single week I’ve got something crazy going on, I’m still very active as a musician, I’m out on the stage every weekend, I rarely get weekends off… but I took two days extra to get a little break, because it’s my birthday next week.”
While she says her music career occasionally becomes dull, Maffia is still clearly so proud of her work, which also saw her release her only solo album First Lady in 2003, along with a string of singles including this year’s Fever, a collaboration with DJ and producer Molly Mouse.
But ultimately the band is still a big part of her life and image, and says she is glad she did not start making music during the 2020s.
“We literally had a lifestyle that we presented,” She says proudly.
“We had bowler hats… and we had our fashion sense, where it was a mixture of classic English and American tracksuits, so we had a whole lifestyle to follow, and I think that is what cements an artist in the industry, whereas now it’s just about views.
“So people view it and they move on, whereas they had to buy into the lifestyle because we presented that, and I think that that went for a lot of artists back in the day, is that they had a whole lifestyle about them, whether it be I don’t know, Run DMC, going as far back as them, they had those big chains and they had trilby hats and they had funky, graffiti clothing.
“Today’s artists, they all look the same, and it’s all very much in and out, just put it out, get all the views, because it’s just about the views, not about the artist.”
Reloaded Sunday With Lisa Maffia on Capital Xtra airs on Sundays from 12pm to 4pm and is also available on the Global Player app.
