#352. Brixton's Top Boy To Jungle Legend - Jumpin Jack Frost

About this episode

Nigel Thompson, known as Jumpin Jack Frost, shares his journey from the streets of Brixton to becoming a pioneer of jungle music, detailing his struggles with addiction and prison.

Nigel Thompson "Jumpin Jack Frost" opens up about becoming one of the founding voices of jungle music and the years of addiction and prison that shaped the journey behind it. Raised in 1970s Brixton in a West Indian household steeped in sound-system culture, Frost was sneaking into local dances by age nine and expelled from school for fighting, all while his father served a 12-year sentence for armed robbery. He got his start on pirate radio alongside lifelong friend and business partner Brian G, before breakbeat and acid house pulled him toward what became jungle. He tells the story of recording "Burial" in a single five-hour session while out on bail on a firearms charge that later put him in prison, releasing it under the alias Leviticus and only decades later watching Def Jam rerelease it as an anniversary record. Behind the music was a slide into addiction that spiralled during lockdown, before he got clean three and a half years ago and nursed his mother through terminal cancer. Now he mentors young DJs and people in recovery, rebuilding bonds with his six children and nine grandchildren. This is the eventful life of Nigel Thompson "Jumpin Jack Frost". If you're a Founder…

People in this episode

Host: Dodge Woodall

Guests: Nigel Thompson, Jumpin Jack Frost

Topics covered

• jungle music
• addiction
• prison
• mentorship
• family
• music history

Keywords

• jungle music
• Nigel Thompson
• Burial
• addiction
• prison
• mentorship
• Brixton
• music history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Def Jam

Books & works: Burial

Places: Brixton, West Indian

More episodes of Dodge Woodall Network

• FOUNDER #44. Pilot’s Career Crashed, Then Built A £10M+ Empire From Scratch - Matt Robson · September 9, 2026 · 1h 4m
• FOUNDER #43. £100M+ Genius from East London To Living Tax Free In Monaco - Paul Smith · August 26, 2026 · 1h 31m
• #351. 90s London City Trader Made Millions, Then Lost It All to Cocaine - Geraint Anderson · August 19, 2026 · 1h 17m
• FOUNDER #42. £250M Property Giant Betrayed By The "Monster" He Created - John Reynolds · August 12, 2026 · 1h 26m
• #350. 21 Signs You’re Married to a Female Narcissist (They Never Change) - Phillip Dugas · August 5, 2026 · 57 min
• FOUNDER #41. £600M: The ‘Grenade’ Drinks Story (Sold in 60 Days) - Al Barratt · July 29, 2026 · 1h 13m