1994年jazz/hip-hop fusion组合Us3以一首"Cantaloop(Flip Fantasia)"成为一大热门，这首歌显示该组合喜爱将Blue Note这个厂牌的经典录音加以采样（该曲原为Herbie Hancock的“Cantaloupe Island”）。组合在1991年于伦敦成立，当时演唱会推广人及爵士乐作曲Geoff Wilkinson遇到Mel Simpson，Mel当时为电视节目和广告jingles写曲。此二人制作了一首独立的单曲，"Where Will We Be in the 21st Century?"，该单曲售出少于250张。1992年，他们的另一首歌"The Band That Played the Boogie"引起Blue Note的所有人Capitol Records的注意，并给予二人任意采样的自由。两人马上着手工作，聘请了音乐人和说唱歌手Kobie Powell和Rahsaan Kelly，Tukka Yoot后来也加入。其结果就是热门歌曲"Cantaloop"和专辑Hand on the Torch。该组合去日本及欧洲巡回演唱，在现场表演中逐渐放弃运用采样，并在1993年的Montreux爵士音乐节的演出中获得好评。大多数爵士的出版物对Hand on the Torch不屑置评，但却被日本的Swing Journal评为年度专辑，英国的The Independen也将年度爵士乐手的名衔受于该组合。在推迟了几乎三年后，Us3以Broadway & 52nd于1997年重返乐坛，该专辑得到积极的评价但未能产出一首热门主打歌。(Steve Huey, All-Music Guide) \r \r \r \r Full Biography :\r Us3 is the brainchild of London-based producer Geoff Wilkinson. Formed in 1992, alongside production partner Mel Simpson, Us3 rose from the ashes of 2 previous incarnations. The first was a limited edition white label 12" release in 1990 called "Where Will We Be In The 21st Century" featuring rapper MC Honey B and jazz pianist Jessica Lauren. This brought the attention of a (then) fledgling indie label, Ninjatune, and the result was NW1's 1991 12" "The Band Played The Boogie". By sampling one of the biggest dancefloor tunes of the burgeoning jazz dance scene, Geoff had unknowingly started a chain reaction. The tune he sampled was Grant Green's "Sookie Sookie", originally released on Blue Note Records.