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Professor Green

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Professor Green
Birth nameStephen Paul Manderson
Born (1983-11-27) 27 November 1983 (age 41)
OriginHackney, London, England
GenresHip-Hop, Grime
Occupation(s)Rapper, MC
InstrumentVocals/Rap
Years active2006–present
LabelsThe Beats (2006–2008)
Virgin (2010-Present)
Websiteprofessorgreen.co.uk

Harley Paul Manderson (born 27 November 1983, Hackney, London, England), better known by his stage name Professor Green is an English rapper. He was signed to The Beats, a record label run by Mike Skinner and Ted Mayhem, until 12 February 2008, as the label went under. He won the inaugural JumpOff MySpace £50,000 battle rap tournament in July 2008. In 2009, Manderson worked with Lily Allen on her 2009 concert tour.

In 2006, at the age of 23, he released his first mixtape, Lecture #1. After his first record label, The Beats, went under he produced on his own an EP called The Green EP. But after he toured with Lily Allen he was signed to Virgin Records and released "I Need You Tonight", based around INXS's "Need You Tonight" through the label.[1] He also joined up with Lily Allen in "Just Be Good To Green" which is based around The SOS Band's "Just Be Good to Me".

Green released his debut album, Alive Till I'm Dead, on 19 July 2010, which features guest vocals from Lily Allen, Emeli Sandé, Fink, Labrinth and Example, as well as The Streets, who used to own The Beats.

Personal life

Manderson was born in Hackney, East London[2] and was raised by his grandmother, Patricia, from the age of one.

His father, Peter, committed suicide in 2008 in Brentwood, Essex. Green has stated before though how he feels his father's death has made him a better person, saying: "I'd had a turbulent relationship with my dad. He was always in and out of my life and I was raised by my grandmother Patricia. Mum, who had me at 16, was there for the most part but my grandmother was the most influential. I last saw my dad alive on my 18th birthday. He came over to see me but after that we just stopped talking. There was no real reason. He hanged himself and I had to go and identify the body in the morgue." [4]

Manderson said he "fell in to rapping accidentally" as he was at a party at a friend's house, where everyone was free-styling, and he got put on the spot and he said it worked for him. Then, on seeing a flyer for a freestyle night called LyricPad, he decided to go. Despite no experience on freestyling, he won. After going to LyricPad again the next month, a scout from JumpOff spotted him. From there, he battled and won every week, eventually becoming Champion. As of June 2011, he remains the only MC to win seven times in a row, a feat he accomplished twice. At JumpOff, Mike Skinner from The Streets saw and signed Manderson up to his record label, The Beats, although Manderson is never very complimentary upon being asked about his experiences there.

Manderson gained the alias of 'Professor Green' through selling marijuana at a young age. The 'Green' part derives from the slang of marijuana. He continued to sell marijuana until he was signed to The Beats, He gained the name Professor as he was very intelligent, although dropping out of school, despite having been offered a place at St. Paul's, he decided instead to go to a comprehensive in Tottenham.[3]

On 23 May 2010 Manderson was attacked with the neck of a broken bottle in the Cargo nightclub in Shoreditch, East London. His assailant was later convicted of the crime and sentenced to eight years in prison. [4]

Manderson is also an ambassador for SportsLifestyle brand Puma.

Career history

2010-2011: Alive Till I'm Dead

He confirmed his debut album's title was "Alive Till I'm Dead" on his official MySpace. The first single off the album is produced by The ThundaCatz and called "I Need You Tonight", which was released on 12 April 2010. It samples the 1987 hit from INXS 'Need You Tonight'. It peaked at #3 in the UK, and #15 in Ireland. The single was also certificated silver status in the United Kingdom as well.[5] He released his second single 'Just Be Good to Green', on 11 July 2010 in the UK. The single features British singer Lily Allen. It became a top 5 hit in the UK, a top 20 hit in Ireland and on the European Hot 100 Singles. It also peaked at #32 in New Zealand and #49 in Australia. The song samples 'Just Be Good To Me' by the SOS Band.[6]

His album was released a week later, and peaked at #2 in the United Kingdom and #18 in Ireland. He released 'Monster' as the third single from the album. The track features UK rapper Example. Released on 3 October 2010 the single became a top 30 hit on the UK Singles Chart.[7] His album has been certificated Gold with sales of over 100,000 in the United Kingdom.

On 10 September 2010, Professor Green joined Lily Allen on stage at Wembley Stadium whilst supporting Muse, to perform her number one hit 'Smile', and 'Just Be Good To Green'.[8]

On 19 October 2010 Manderson released the video for his next single 'Jungle' which features Maverick Sabre. It was released on 3 January 2011 and reached #33 in the UK Singles Chart.

On 8 December 2010, a feud erupted on social networking site Twitter between Green and fellow grime artist Wiley. The argument arose when Wiley said that Green would not exist if it were not for the success of American rapper Eminem, adding that he himself was a superior artist to Green. In retribution Green responded by saying '"I will always be a fan, but that's not to say I won't s**t all over you. It's not a problem for me." This then escalated into a larger argument before Green attempted to defuse the situation, to little avail.[9]

Green appeared on Soccer AM where he was challenged to a rap battle by Tubes, after several starting spits, Green said "I'm the Professor, the one that you don't wanna test, Tubes is about as smart as the Soccerette". This got a big reaction from everyone in the studio.

Green is also UK Ambassador for SportLifestyle brand Puma, focussing on the fashion and lifestyle side of the brand.

2011-2012: At Your Inconvenience

Professor Green's second album is titled At Your Inconvenience and will be released on 31 October 2011.[10] "At Your Inconvenience" was played by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on 13 July 2011.[11] The single was released as a promotional single. The first official single "Read All About It" which features vocals from Emeli Sandé will be released on 21 October 2011.[12]

Discography

Main article: Professor Green discography
Albums
EPs/Mixtapes

Awards and nominations

References

  1. ^ Swash, Rosie (20 April 2010). "How Professor Green gatecrashed the charts". The Guardian. London.
  2. ^ How Professor Green gatecrashed the charts - The Guardian
  3. ^ Archived 2010-04-21 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Broken bottle attacker of rap star Professor Green is jailed eight years for stabbing | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  5. ^ "I Need You Tonight - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  6. ^ "Just Be Good to Green - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Monster (Professor Green song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Lily Allen performs with Professor Green at Muse show". Metro.co.uk. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Professor Green & Wiley Involved In Twitter Battle | Professor Green | News | MTV UK". Mtv.co.uk. 8 December 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  10. ^ "At Your Inconvenience by Professor Green - Preorder At Your Inconvenience on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 27 November 1983. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  11. ^ Zane Lowe. "Zane Lowe's Hottest Records blog: Hottest Record - Professor Green - At Your Inconvenience". BBC. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Connecting to the iTunes Store". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 23 October 2011.

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