Graft | |
---|---|
Birth name | Jovanni Shemar Sterling [1] |
Also known as | Graft |
Born | Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. [2] | 27 May 1999
Genres | Rap |
Occupation(s) | Footballer, Rapper |
Years active | 2015–present |
Website | www |
Jovanni Shemar Sterling (born 27 May 1999) [1] [3] known professionally as Graft, is a British rapper and former professional youth footballer, [4] [3] from Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. [2]
Graft was born in Gledhow, raised in Chapeltown, and later moved to Oakwood all of which are areas in the city of Leeds. [2]
He first started making music as a 14 year old. [5] [3] His first rap freestyle video was released on Leeds-based YouTube channel FirstMediaTV in February 2015. [6] In February 2016 he released his first music video "Chapters" also on FirstMediaTV. [7] He's also done rap freestyles and music videos on other West Yorkshire YouTube channels such as; Bradford's KODH TV (King Of Da Hillz TV), [8] Bradford's AIRES Films, [9] Leeds' HomeGrownMedia (HGM) [10] and Leeds' JDZmedia. [11]
In May 2015, he joined the Leeds United F.C. under 18's youth academy, and previously captained the under 16's team. [5] Leeds United are the team he supports. [4] [5] He then joined Rotherham United F.C. in July 2016, [12] where he played for their B team and youth academy. [13] [14] [15] On the 30th of June 2017 he was released by Rotherham United. [16] [17]
In October 2020 Graft appeared in series 2 of The Rap Game UK by BBC Three. [18] [5] The judges as usual were DJ Target, and Krept and Konan. [19] The celebrity mentors were Aitch, Ashleigh Jade, Ayishat Akanbi, D Double E, Deno, The Fanatix, JME, Kenny Allstar, Ms Banks, Rapman, Tiffany Calver, Wretch 32, Young T and Bugsey, and Yungen. [20] And Graft's rival contestants were D Live, DDroid, Lesia, Micahh, Shogun and Zones. [21] [22]
In May 2021 he appeared in an episode of BBC Three's MOTDx with Aston Villa F.C. footballer Kortney Hause. [23] [24] [25]
In October 2021 he appeared in 5 episodes of E4's Celebrity Ghost Trip. [26] Graft was paired with The Apprentice series 14 winner Sian Gabbidon who is also from Leeds. [26] [27]
Graft along with his fellow The Rap Game UK contestants, released the single "Dirty" as part of one of their challenges in the show. The music video was released on GRM Daily and BBC Three's YouTube channels in November 2020. [28]
He released his long anticipated, The Rap Game UK winning single "You Know What" in July 2021, with the music video being posted on GRM Daily. [29] It was released by Krept and Konan's record label Play Dirty, as part of the prize for winning The Rap Game UK. [30] It featured cameos from The Rap Game UK series 1 runner up FOS, fashion designer Sian Gabbidon, former IBF featherweight world boxing champion Josh Warrington, along with Krept and Konan themselves. [30] It was filmed all across the city of Leeds, and featured local landmarks Leeds Kirkgate Market, Leeds Corn Exchange, and Elland Road. [30]
He's supported the likes of Wiley, Bugzy Malone, Tion Wayne, and Nadia Rose on tour. [3]
In October 2018 Graft was nominated in the Best Upcoming Artist category, at The Yorkshire Entertainment Award's 2018, [31] which he went on to win. [32]
He was also co-nominated in the Best Video category, at The Yorkshire Entertainment Award's 2018, along with Bradford's Leejay and Huddersfield's Prince Omari, for their music video "Can't Hear Us" which they also won. [32] Graft, Leejay, and Prince Omari, wore Leeds United F.C., Bradford City A.F.C. and Huddersfield Town A.F.C. shirts respectively, to represent their home towns and cities. The video was filmed at the football club stadiums Elland Road, Valley Parade and Kirklees Stadium.
In February 2019 he won the 2018 MOBO UnSung Award, with Fred Fredas and Ike Chuks finishing as runners up. [33] [34]
In November 2020 he won The Rap Game UK, with Lesia and Zones finishing as runners up. [35] [36] [37]
The MOBO Awards are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in "music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and African music.
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.
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.
"Freak of the Week" is a song by British rappers Krept and Konan, featuring vocals from American singer Jeremih. The song was released for digital download in the United Kingdom on 28 June 2015 as the first single from their debut album The Long Way Home (2015). The single peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart. It is a hip hop song that contains a sample of "Who Am I " by Beenie Man.
David Orobosa Michael Omoregie, known professionally as Dave or Santan Dave, is a British rapper and actor. He is known for his socially conscious lyricism and wordplay.
Kwadwo Adu Genfi Amponsah, known professionally as Kojey Radical, is a British musician, creative director and mixed media visual artist. His style has been described as a mix of grime hip hop, alternative rap, and spoken word. Since 2018, he has received six nominations at the MOBO Awards, including Best Newcomer. He also performed at the 2020 and 2022 MOBO ceremonies.
Clive James Brooks, also known as Yungen, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Herne Hill, South London. Yungen first gained recognition for his 2011 F64 freestyle video for SB.TV, and by 2015 had been nominated for Best Newcomer at the MOBO Awards.
Nathan Tokosi, known professionally as DigDat, is a British rapper from Deptford, London. His single "Air Force" peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart following the release of the remix featuring Krept and Konan and K-Trap; this was the first time one of his tracks had entered the top 20. His next single, "No Cap" with Loski, peaked at number 51.
Blaine Cameron Johnson, known professionally as Cadet, was a British rapper. Blaine Johnson began pursuing a career as a rapper in 2011, releasing a number of freestyles through YouTube outlets such as OSM Vision and Link Up TV. His debut project, The Commitment, was released in 2016, followed by The Commitment 2 the following year. He is perhaps best known for his single "Advice" featuring Deno, which peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.
D-Block Europe, often abbreviated to DBE, is a British hip hop collective consisting of Adam Nathaniel "Young Adz" Williams, and Ricky Earl "Dirtbike LB" Banton. Their name originated after being co-signed by Jadakiss, resulting in Jadakiss launching the European staple of his record label D-Block Records, creating D-Block Europe. They started to put out tracks on their own label at the beginning of 2014. The group rose to fame in 2017 after releasing numerous singles including "Large Amounts", "Darling", "Nasty".
OFB, short for Original Farm Boys, is a British hip hop collective based in Broadwater Farm, North London. OFB is one of the most prominent UK drill groups.
Skengdo x AM, whose real names are Terrell Daniel Doyley and Joshua Malinga, respectively, are a British hip hop duo from Brixton, London. They are both members of the UK drill group and alleged gang, 410, which is known to have conflict with neighbouring Harlem Spartans, based in Kennington. The duo gained some media attention in 2019 where they were handed a suspended jail sentence due to performing a song that police alleged encouraged gang violence.
Miguel Rahiece Cunningham, known professionally as M1llionz, is a British rapper from Birmingham, West Midlands.
Oakley Caesar-Su, known professionally as Central Cee, is a British rapper from Shepherd's Bush, London. He rose to prominence in 2020 with the release of the singles "Day in the Life" and "Loading". His first mixtape Wild West was released on 12 March 2021, which debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. His second mixtape 23 was released on 25 February 2022 and debuted atop the UK Albums Chart.
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 CGM. 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. His fourth mixtape Back To Square One was released in August 2023.
Made in the Pyrex is the second commercial mixtape by British rapper Digga D. It was released on 26 February 2021 by CGM. It features guest appearances from AJ Tracey, M1llionz, Sav'o and ZK.
Morrisson is a British rapper. Several of his singles charted on the UK Singles Chart in 2020–21, while also reaching the top 40 of the UK R&B Singles Chart. His 2021 UK garage single, "House & Garage", reached No. 46 and features rapper Aitch. Morrisson has also collaborated with Steel Banglez, Tion Wayne, Loski, Jordan, Headie One, Bugzy Malone, Kelly Kiara, Harry James, Krept & Konan, M1llionz and Sidhu Moose Wala.
ZieZie is a British rapper and singer from Croydon, London. He is best known for his single "Fine Girl" released in 2018 and for being featured in Aitch's "Buss Down" in 2019.
Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos, known professionally as Yung Filly or simply Filly, is a Colombian-British YouTuber and musician. Born in Colombia and later moving to the UK, he began his YouTube career in 2013, starting a music career in 2017. Beginning in 2018, he appeared on numerous shows, several of which he hosted.