Founded in 1986 as an informal jamming combo, Urban Dance Squad didn't take their project too seriously until spurred on by the interest generated by an appearance at an Utrecht festival. After a few years of gigging, UDS released their debut album Mental Floss for the Globe in 1989. It's a gumbo of Chili Peppers style grooves and hooks, pacey old-skool style rapping and hip-hop breaks and scratches. This would be the trademark UDS sound, along with Tres Manos' amazing acoustic guitar work. With 1991's Life 'N' Perspectives of a Genuine Crossover this sound was consolidated, and to it was added a little playful reggae "Duck Ska" and eastern style percussion "Bureaucrat of Flacco Street". They were among the first rock bands to truly integrate a hip-hop d.j. to create a fuller, more interesting sound, rather than novelty one-offs like Run-DMC/Aerosmith and Anthrax/Public Enemy. The band toured extensively forming strong musical ties with like-minded musical souls such as Bad Brains and 24-7 SPYZ.

Urban Dance Squad's next album, Planet Ultra followed this rock vein more closely. Indeed, in many ways the hip-hop influences were kept very much to the background. Interestingly, UDS began to explore the dance music scene, working with dance remixers. The drum & bass remixes of "Temporarily Expendible" are fine examples of the genre, and may have prompted vocalist Rude Boy to first consider his colaborations with Tom Holkenborg on the Junkie XL big beat/electronica project.