WGR MUSIC STORIES
MC Tazo – A North East Makina & New Monkey Legend
A North East Makina & New Monkey Legend
When you talk about **North East rave culture, Makina and the legendary New Monkey**, there are certain names that instantly bring back memories. **MC Tazo** is one of them.
Known away from the mic as **Kevin Hogg**, Tazo comes from **Felling, Gateshead** and became one of the recognisable voices of the North East MC scene. His rapid delivery, memorable rhymes and ability to work over fast Makina and bounce made him a favourite with generations of ravers.
For anyone who grew up swapping rave tapes, listening to recordings from the New Monkey or following the North East scene, hearing Tazo on a set can instantly take you back.
## Growing Up With the North East Rave Sound
Tazo's beginnings were properly grassroots.
Speaking about his early days, he has recalled listening to rave tapes belonging to his older cousins and practising MCing at home using karaoke equipment. From those beginnings came appearances at local sessions and eventually the raves themselves.
It was a familiar route for many North East MCs: no huge record-company launch and no social-media campaign. You learned your rhymes, grabbed a microphone and proved yourself in front of a crowd.
As his reputation grew, **The New Monkey** became particularly important to Tazo's story.
## The New Monkey Era
For North East ravers, the **New Monkey in Sunderland** became much more than another nightclub.
The venue was at the centre of a distinctive local culture where fast Makina records and MCs went hand-in-hand. Sets circulated afterwards on tapes, CDs and eventually online, allowing individual performances to live far beyond the night itself.
Tazo was part of that world.
Recordings from the New Monkey era featuring **MC Tazo** continue to circulate today, and officially available archive material also connects him with other familiar names from the scene, including **MC TNT**.
The New Monkey eventually closed in 2006, but the music and the memories didn't disappear with it.
In fact, the recordings became part of North East rave folklore.
## That North East MC Sound
Makina originally developed in Spain, particularly around Valencia, before finding an unlikely second home in North East England.
Here it developed its own identity.
Fast melodies, pounding kick drums and uplifting records were combined with North East MCing. Rather than the MC simply introducing records, the vocals became an essential part of the performance.
That's where someone like Tazo comes in.
His **breakneck vocal delivery** over fast electronic music is exactly the sort of sound associated with North East Makina. Resident Advisor described the combination of Tazo and Nanna Makina as capturing the essence of the style: turbo-charged hardcore and bouncy techno underneath Tazo's rapid-fire vocals.
For people outside the region it can be difficult to understand just how deeply this music became embedded in North East youth culture.
For those who were there, it needs little explanation.
## Keeping Makina Alive
The closure of the New Monkey could easily have marked the end of an era.
Instead, Makina survived.
Old tapes were uploaded, forgotten recordings resurfaced, younger ravers discovered the sound and a new generation of DJs began bringing elements of Makina and North East rave culture back into clubs.
Tazo remained part of that story.
In 2025, END. published a feature looking at **Makina as the sound of the North East** and specifically highlighted MC Tazo as one of the artists through whom the culture has continued.
He has also performed alongside **Schak**, whose success helped expose elements of the North East rave sound to a much wider modern dance audience.
At a Newcastle appearance reviewed by Skiddle, Tazo joined Schak over donk and happy-hardcore selections, bringing classic bars to a hometown crowd.
It's an interesting crossover: the music has moved forward, but the unmistakable North East MC tradition is still there.
## More Than Just Rave Bars
There's another side to Tazo's MCing as well.
In 2022, Tazo recorded an **anti-knife-crime rap** following the death of Newcastle teenager Gordon Gault.
Tazo explained that he knew younger people listened to MCing and hoped his words could encourage them not to carry or use knives.
It showed how the same microphone associated with packed raves and high-energy Makina sets could also be used to speak directly to young people in the community.
## A Genuine Piece of North East Rave History
More than two decades after those classic rave recordings, people are still listening.
That's perhaps the biggest testament to the New Monkey generation.
These weren't recordings originally made with the expectation that people would still be searching for them decades later. They captured a particular place, time and community.
Yet today people are rediscovering old sets, identifying forgotten tunes and sharing memories of nights out across Sunderland, Newcastle, Gateshead and the rest of the North East.
And **MC Tazo remains one of the names connected with that history**.
From homemade practice sessions and old rave tapes to the New Monkey, modern Makina events and a renewed interest in North East rave culture, Tazo's story reflects the journey of the scene itself.
The venues might change.
The technology certainly changes.
But once that Makina beat starts and the MC grabs the microphone, the North East sound is instantly recognisable.
**MC Tazo – keeping the spirit of North East Makina alive.**
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### Weedy Garage Radio Archive
Were you at the **New Monkey** when MC Tazo performed?
Did you have one of the old Tazo tapes or CDs?
Maybe you've got a forgotten recording, flyer, photograph or story from those nights.
**Join the Weedy Garage Radio forum and share your memories.**
We're building an archive of **North East rave, Makina, hardcore, old-school DJs, MCs, venues and internet radio history** — preserving the stories before they're lost.
**Keep the memories. Support the artists. Keep the underground alive.**