WGR Community Forum

# MC TNT – Gateshead / New Monkey Makina MC **MC TNT**, real name **Craig Greenwood**, is a North East Makina MC from **Felling, Gateshead** and one of the recognisable voices from the classic New Monkey era. An old North East MC profile records his date of birth as **4 November 1982**, lists his favourite style as **Spanish Techno**, and documents appearances at venues including: **The New Monkey Energize NRG House Club Lucy's The Dudley Rave** ## From Felling, Gateshead TNT came from the same Gateshead area that produced several important names in the North East MC scene. His old profile even carries the message: **“Make some noise for the Gateshead boys!”** The profile also gives us an interesting insight into his attitude towards MCing. His advice to upcoming MCs was to write lyrics down, learn them and, most importantly, **develop their own style**. His ambition was to keep producing original rhymes and eventually be remembered within the scene. More than 20 years later, the number of surviving TNT recordings suggests he certainly left his mark. ## The New Monkey – 2002 TNT is particularly well documented at Sunderland's legendary **New Monkey**. A recording from **17 August 2002** features: **MC TNT MC Ace MC Tazo** The complete recording has since been officially released digitally, preserving more than an hour of the three MCs performing together. ## Tazo & TNT Another important New Monkey combination was: **MC Tazo & MC TNT** A surviving recording from **16 November 2002**, featuring a Chrissy G & Jacko set, credits both Tazo and TNT. They can also be heard together on other surviving New Monkey material from this period. ## Halloween Special 2002 One of the best preserved releases is the: **New Monkey Halloween Special 2002** featuring: **MC TNT MC Ace MC Tazo** The recording has since been given an official digital release, meaning a New Monkey performance originally experienced more than two decades ago can still be heard today. ## TNT & Trance TNT also performed alongside **MC Trance**. A surviving recording from **5 April 2003** features: **DJ Browny MC TNT & MC Trance B2B** at the New Monkey. The recording remains online and comments from listeners years later show how strongly some of these old tapes are still remembered. ## TNT & Ace Another surviving New Monkey release from **26 July 2003** features: **MC TNT & MC Ace** This is another example of how frequently TNT appears alongside the major MCs from the classic New Monkey period. ## The Wider North East Scene TNT's history didn't end when the original New Monkey era passed. He continued appearing at North East rave events and alongside other MCs from the scene. A Sunderland **Monta Musica** event in 2018 brought together an enormous collection of familiar names including: **TNT Tazo Ace Impulse Turbo D Stompin Techno-T Jet** It shows how the original MC network continued performing long after the clubs and scene had changed. ## The Recordings Survive There's now a substantial online archive of TNT material. Recordings and playlists preserve him alongside DJs and MCs including: **Tazo Ace Trance Turbo D Letrix Ronez Woody Browny Matty O** There's even a surviving recording dedicated to the late **MC Crazy B**, featuring DJ Woody with TNT, Letrix and Turbo D. For the WGR archive, recordings like these are important. They're not simply somebody remembering what happened. **We can actually hear the scene.** ## Part of Gateshead & North East Rave History MC TNT deserves his place in the history of North East Makina. Coming from **Felling in Gateshead**, he became part of the New Monkey MC generation and performed alongside many of the names we're now documenting individually for WGR. His old profile said his aim was to keep creating original rhymes and eventually be recognised as a legend. Today, recordings made more than two decades ago are still being listened to, uploaded, discussed and officially re-released. That's a pretty good legacy for a North East MC. --- ## Do You Remember MC TNT? Did you see **MC TNT at the New Monkey**? Do you remember **TNT & Tazo**, **TNT & Ace** or **TNT & Trance**? Did you own any of the original New Monkey TNT tapes or CDs? If you've got **old recordings, flyers, photographs, videos or memories**, post them below and help us preserve another piece of North East rave history. **Weedy Garage Radio – Keeping North East Rave History Alive.**