Skepta
Skepta | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Junior Adenuga |
| Born | 19 September 1982 Tottenham, North London, England |
| Genres | Grime, hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | www |
Joseph Junior Adenuga (born 19 September 1982), better known by his stage name Skepta, is an English rapper, grime artist, songwriter and record producer of Nigerian descent.[1] He is most commonly known for releasing grime music. He released his debut studio album Greatest Hits in late 2007 and his second, Microphone Champion in 2009, both independently, while his third studio album Doin' It Again was released in 2011 by 3 Beat Records. His fourth studio album, Konnichiwa, is expected to be released in late 2015.
Career
Early career
Skepta was originally a DJ from Tottenham-based grime crew Meridian Crew, early in his career Skepta released a number of instrumentals the most notable of which were "DTI (Pirate Station Anthem)" and "Private Caller", the latter of which was released as a single and vocaled by various other members of Meridian Crew. Skepta began emceeing shortly before Meridian Crew disbanded in 2005, after which Skepta, alongside his brother JME, joined Roll Deep for a short period of time before becoming founding members of Boy Better Know in 2006. In 2006 he clashed Devilman for the DVD Lord of the Mics 2 in what is remembered as one of the biggest grime clashes.[2][3] This clash created a long running dispute between the two MCs culminating in war dubs being exchanged in 2015.[4][5]
2006–2007: Greatest Hits
Skepta released his debut album Greatest Hits on 17 September 2007. It was released on Boy Better Know.
2008–2009: Microphone Champion
Skepta self-released the first single "Rolex Sweep" in September 2008 and reached number 89 on the UK Singles Chart. Skepta then released the album Microphone Champion on 1 June 2009. He then also released single "Too Many Man" with JME, Wiley, Frisco and Shorty, which went to chart at number 79.
2010–2011: Doin' It Again
Skepta has released five singles off his third studio album Doin' It Again (first with a major label), titled "Bad Boy", "Rescue Me", "Cross My Heart" featuring Preeya Kalidas, "So Alive" and "Amnesia", as well as a video for the Hello Good Morning (Grime Remix). Three singles charted in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, with "Rescue Me" being the most successful at number 14. "Cross My Heart" came in at number 31 and dropped out of the Top 40 a week later. Doin' it Again spent 3 weeks in the top 100 album charts and debuted and peaked at number 19 on its first week of release. In 2011 Skepta caused a big controversy by releasing a hardcore music video of his single All over the house[6]
2012–2013: Non-album singles and Blacklisted
In 2012, Skepta released two singles from his fourth forthcoming album. Both "Hold On" and "Make Peace Not War" were Top 40 charting singles in the UK but were a departure from Skepta's usual sound. Skepta's second major label album was intended to be released in the fourth quarter of 2011, entitled The Honeymoon but was delayed till 2012. After a disappointing response from the first two singles Skepta decided to release a purchasable mixtape, titled Blacklisted. It was released on 2 December 2012 along with music videos to support the release prior to the release.
2014–2015: Konnichiwa
In March 2014, Skepta provided a verse for the remix of "German Whip" by Meridian Dan, and in the same month, he released his new single, "That's Not Me", featuring his brother JME, peaking at number 21 on the UK charts.[7] The single's music video won the award for Best Video at the 2014 MOBO Awards.[8] Upon receiving the award, Skepta stated that the video cost him £80.[9]
In late 2014, Skepta released another single titled "It Ain't Safe" featuring A$AP Bari. This was followed in early 2015 with "Shutdown", as well as features on "Red Eye to Paris" by Flatbush Zombies and the remix of "Ojuelegba" by Wizkid, also featuring Drake. Skepta and others joined Kanye West at a surprise show in London, performing numerous songs together during a shared set.[10] He was also named one of GQ's 50 best dressed British men in 2015.[11]
In an interview it stated that Skepta's making his acting debut in 2015 film Anti-Soicial.[12]
Discography
- Studio albums
- Greatest Hits (2007)
- Microphone Champion (2009)
- Doin' It Again (2011)
References
- ^ Jon O'Brien. "Skepta". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/oct/03/jammers-top-grime-clashes-featuring-wiley-kano-skepta-devilman-and-more
- ^ http://www.thefader.com/2015/05/04/skepta-nasty-grime-beef-mandem
- ^ http://keepinitgrimy.com/logan-samas-war-report-part-1/
- ^ http://www.officiallyurban.com/grime-street-devilman-repsonds-to-skeptas-nasty-with-a-new-diss-track/
- ^ "Skepta's new video: a step too far?". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ "2014-06-21 Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive - Official Charts". officialcharts.com.
- ^ "That's Not Me Wins Best Video at MOBO Awards 2014". What's Good?. 22 October 2014.
- ^ "Skepta ft. JME | Best Video Award acceptance speech at MOBO Awards | 2014". MOBO Awards / YouTube. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ "Watch Kanye West perform with Raekwon, Skepta and more". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ "50 Best Dressed Men in Britain 2015". GQ. 5 January 2015.
- ^ Wil Jones. "Interview: Skepta's Keeping It Strictly 'Anti-Social'". Complex UK. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
External links
- Official website
- Skepta on Facebook
- Skepta on Instagram
- Skepta on SoundCloud
- Skepta on Twitter
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