Wildale Spencer, known across drum & bass as MC Fats or Singing Fats, brought a different set of musical instincts to the microphone. His background included soul, rare groove, reggae and sound-system culture, and those influences gave him a flexibility that separated him from a conventional rave host.

Fats could toast rhythmically, sing a full melodic phrase, improvise around a DJ’s selection or simply hold the room together. That ability made him valuable across subgenres. Jump-up, deep rollers, liquid, techstep and dancefloor material could all accommodate his voice because he listened to what the record needed before deciding how much of himself to add.

By the early-to-mid 1990s he was deeply embedded in the London jungle scene. De Underground and Boogie Times were part of the network around him, and his long friendship and collaboration with A-Sides began during this period. What started through studio sessions and phone-call vocals developed into one of drum & bass’s most enduring creative partnerships.

His recording credits became a map of the genre. DJ Hype’s Peace, Love & Unity gave him one of his best-known appearances; collaborations with A-Sides, Calibre, Dillinja, Break, Alix Perez, S.P.Y, Bailey, Pendulum, Chase & Status and others demonstrated how widely producers trusted his musical judgement. Labels including Metalheadz, RAM, Shogun Audio, V Recordings, Valve, True Playaz and Eastside all carried his voice.

Live performance remained central. Fats became a loved presence at Fabric, Sun & Bass and countless raves, often appearing with selectors whose styles differed dramatically. His value was not measured by how many words he could fit over a set. The warmth of his tone and the ease with which he could turn a phrase into a hook made a crowd feel accompanied rather than instructed.

Serious health problems changed the shape of his career. Complications related to diabetes led to surgery, including a partial leg amputation, and later he underwent major heart surgery. When illness made regular performing difficult, the drum & bass community repeatedly rallied around him. The support reflected decades of relationships rather than celebrity charity.

In 2014 he released We Gotcha through his own U Understand Me Music imprint, created with A-Sides and a wide group of collaborators. The album helped raise funds during his health struggles but also stood as proof that Fats was not simply a live MC whose work vanished after a rave. He had a substantial recorded body of work and his own artistic identity.

Even through periods of poor health he continued to record. Natural Way with Break appeared in late 2022, only months before his death, showing that the voice remained creatively active rather than existing only as a legacy feature on old records.

MC Fats died on 10 March 2023. Tributes came from across the entire drum & bass spectrum. Later memorial events, including a Fabric fundraiser, made explicit what the scene had long understood: Peace, Love & Unity was not merely a track title. It described the community around him.

His legacy is difficult to imitate because the technical part was only half of it. Plenty of singers can hold a note and plenty of MCs can command a crowd. Fats could do both while making it feel like a conversation among friends.