Armand van Helden is an American DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter from Boston. He is considered one of house music's most revered figures, with a career spanning three decades.
XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group.
Estelle Fanta Swaray is a British rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, and radio presenter from West London. She is known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including R&B, soul, reggae, grime, hip hop, and dance. She has collaborated with artists including John Legend, Robin Thicke, Rick Ross, Chris Brown, will.i.am, Kanye West, Pete Rock, David Guetta and Tyler, The Creator.
The Evolution of Robin Thicke is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Robin Thicke. It was released on October 3, 2006, by Star Trak Records and Interscope Records. The production on the album was primarily handled by Pro J and Robin Thicke himself with additional production by The Neptunes. The album also features guest appearances from Faith Evans, Lil Wayne and Pharrell. In February 2007, a deluxe edition of the album was released, which included all three new bonus tracks.
Nathaniel Thompson, better known professionally as Giggs, is a British rapper and songwriter from Peckham, London. He released his debut studio album Walk in da Park in 2008 and released a follow-up album Let Em Ave It the following year.
Walk in da Park is the debut album by English rapper Giggs. It was released on 4 August 2008 independently through SN1 Records. It is Giggs' first commercial release after putting out a collection of mixtapes from 2005 onwards. The album includes guest appearances from SN1 members Joe Grind, Gunna, Kyze and Gunna D, among others. Production was handled by frequent in-house producers Boom Productions, Bayoz Muzik and others. Walk in da Park incorporates British hip hop with road rap and gangsta rap alongside aggressive flows and production.
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe, better known by his stage name Chip, is a British rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. In the past 14 years he has collaborated with the likes of Skepta, T.I., Meek Mill, Young Adz and many others. In 2009, he released his debut album, I Am Chipmunk, featuring four songs which peaked in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, including the chart-topping "Oopsy Daisy". In 2011, Chipmunk released his follow-up album, the American hip hop-influenced Transition. It included the single "Champion" featuring Chris Brown, which peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart.
Andrae Hugh Sutherland, known professionally as Popcaan, is a Jamaican singer.
Nana Richard Abiona, better known by his stage name Fuse ODG, is a British singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "Antenna" and "Dangerous Love", and for featuring on Major Lazer's "Light It Up (Remix)".
Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo, better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British rapper, singer and actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums; A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons (2015), Stillness in Wonderland (2016) and Grey Area (2019), the last of which was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize and won the awards for Best Album at both the Ivor Novello Awards and the NME Awards.
Young Kingz is the third mixtape by the British hip hop duo Krept and Konan. The mixtape was released on 2 September 2013 on Play Dirty. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 19 and the UK R&B Chart at number three.
Krept and Konan is a British hip hop duo from London, consisting of Casyo Valentine "Krept" Johnson BEM and Karl Dominic "Konan" Wilson BEM, the son of Delroy Wilson otherwise known as 'Jamaica's first child star'. Their first major release was the mixtape Young Kingz, released on 2 September 2013. As of 3 May 2013, Krept and Konan signed a record deal with Virgin EMI Records.
Smoke Boys was a British hip hop collective started by British rapper Ghost in 2010. On 25 September 2015 the group's second mixtape Don't Panic entered at number 36, making their first UK Albums Chart entry. On 4 November 2015, they won Best Newcomer at the MOBO Awards. They were considered to be highly influential in the UK drill scene.
David Orobosa Omoregie, also known as Santan Dave, or just Dave, is an English rapper. He has gained acclaim for his socially conscious lyricism and wordplay.
Courtney Leon Freckleton , known professionally as Nines, is a British rapper. After releasing a string of mixtapes between 2012 and 2015, Nines signed to XL Recordings and released his debut album One Foot Out (2017), which charted at number 4 in the UK Albums Chart. In 2018, his second album Crop Circle charted at number 5, and he topped the chart with his third album Crabs in a Bucket in 2020.
Errol Kojo Bellot, better known professionally as Kojo Funds, is a British singer-songwriter and rapper. His music blends West African and Caribbean sounds with road rap, dancehall and pop.
Tyler Jamal Brown, known professionally as Tyla Yaweh, is an American rapper and singer. He is currently signed to Epic Records and London Entertainment.
Jaiden Anthony Watson, better known by his stage name NorthSideBenji, is a Canadian rapper and musician from Brampton, Ontario. Benji gained recognition from his Certified Gold single "Levels", which featured Toronto rapper Houdini. The single was released in December 2018, and was the only supporting single of his debut extended play, Caviar Dreams, which was released on January 18, 2019. He released his second EP Frienemy on September 6, 2019.
Rhys Angelo Emile Herbert, known professionally as Digga D, is a British rapper. He rose to fame in 2017 along with his UK drill collective 1011. His mixtapes Double Tap Diaries and Made In The Pyrex reached No. 11 and 3 on the UK Albums Chart, respectively. His third mixtape Noughty By Nature was released on 15 April 2022, debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart.
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert is the fourth studio album by British rapper Little Simz, released on 3 September 2021 by Age 101 Music and AWAL. The album succeeds the Mercury Prize-nominated album Grey Area, released in 2019, and the five-track EP, Drop 6 (2020). It is supported by five singles: "Introvert", "Woman", "Rollin Stone", "I Love You, I Hate You" and "Point and Kill". The album is produced by frequent collaborator Inflo, and includes guest appearances from Cleo Sol and Obongjayar. The album received critical acclaim and was named the best album of 2021 by Exclaim! and BBC Radio 6 Music. It won the 2022 Mercury Prize on 18 October 2022. It also won the Libera Award for Best Hip-Hop/Rap Record and was nominated for the Brit Award for British Album of the Year. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert was included in Rolling Stone's ranking of the 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time.
