B-2 Unit is the second solo album by Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. The album included the track "Riot in Lagos", which was significant in the development of electro and hip hop music; the song was listed by The Guardian in 2011 as one of the 50 key events in the history of dance music.[2]
The then brand new Roland TR-808, prior to the drum machine's official release in 1980, was rented out to Sakamoto's band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO).[3] Sakamoto's solo album B-2 Unit was one of the first albums to use the 808, while its lead electro single "Riot in Lagos" was one of the first songs featuring the 808.[4][5]
During production, Sakamoto was travelling between Japan, England and Germany. After working at Kraftwerk's studio in Germany, Sakamoto then travelled to London where he recorded the lead single "Riot in Lagos" at dub reggae producer Dennis Bovell's new studio before it had been fully built. Bovell, who was a fan of Sakamoto and YMO, recalled that Sakamoto brought over various new electronic musical instruments, including a Prophet-10synthesizer before it was officially released. Bovell also rented a 3M 24-track tape recorder and Dolby equipment from producer George Martin, who Bovell's friend knew. Sakamoto played the drum track, which he had previously written down on musical notation sheets, while telling Bovell when to start and stop recording. After recording, he then asked Bovell to "cut it up" and dub the track using his prior experience with dub music. The song was produced and recorded in several hours.[6]
The album, and in particular the song "Riot in Lagos", has been acknowledged as an influence on the development of hip-hop and electro music of the 1980s.[7] Artists in the 1980s including Afrika Bambaataa and Mantronix and more recently Aphex Twin and Autechre are said to have drawn inspiration from the song and album.[8][9]
