Otis Mensah is a British alternative hip-hop and spoken word artist. He was the inaugural Poet Laureate of Sheffield. [1]
Mensah has described his work as a means of challenging dominant models of masculinity, which he claims suppress the discussion of emotions, with negative consequences for mental health. [2]
As a hip-hop artist, Mensah has performed at the BBC Music Introducing Stage at Glastonbury Festival. [3] His lyrics combine playful imagery and unconventional symbolism, often accompanied by boom bap instrumentals. [4] [5]
In November 2018, Magid Magid, the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, appointed Mensah as Poet Laureate of Sheffield. [1] [6] Mensah stated that he wishes to use the position to "break down barriers" and change "elitism attached to poetry." [2]
Tarik Luqmaan Trotter, better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, singer, actor and the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group the Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove. Regarded as "one of the most skilled, incisive, and prolific rappers of his time", he is widely lauded for his live performance skills, continuous multisyllabic rhyme schemes, complex lyricism, double entendres, and politically aware lyrics. With the Roots, he is a singer and rapper on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, frequently playing games with Fallon and his guests.
Rodney Panton, also known as Rodney P is an English MC, as well as a radio and television personality who first gained attention via the UK hip hop scene in the 1980s. A former member of UK hip-hop group London Posse, Rodney P is known for rapping in his London accent.
Kareem Dennis, better known by his stage name Lowkey, is a British rapper and activist from London. He first became known through a series of mixtapes he released before he was 18, before taking a hiatus from the music business. He would return in 2008, with appearances on BBC Radio and at various festivals and concerts including the BBC Electric Proms, Glastonbury, T In The Park and Oxegen in the buildup to his first solo album Dear Listener, as well as collaborating with other British musicians to form the supergroup Mongrel. He released his second solo album, Soundtrack to the Struggle, independently on in 2011.
Kingslee James McLean Daley, known professionally as Akala, is a British rapper, journalist, author, activist and poet from Kentish Town, London. In 2006, he was voted the Best Hip Hop Act at the MOBO Awards and has been included on the annual Powerlist of the 100 most influential Black British people in the UK, most recently making the 2021 edition.
QBoy is a UK-based rapper, producer, DJ, writer and presenter. He is one of the original few out rappers in hip hop circa 2001 that became pioneers of the new subgenre colloquially known as "homo hop". QBoy is currently a DJ and promoter of popular LGBTQ club night and party 'R & She: The Queens of Hip-Hop & R&B' which hosts events in London, Berlin and New York City.
The Thirst are an English indie rock band based in Brixton, London. The band consists of brothers Mensah (vocals/guitar) and Kwame Hart (bass), Mark Lenihan (guitar) and Marcus Harris.
Jim Burke, known professionally as Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer, is a British parodist who performs "chap hop" — hip hop delivered in a Received Pronunciation accent. Mr.B raps, or "rhymes", about good manners, dressing with style and dignity, sophisticated society, pipe smoking and cricket while playing the banjolele. The character is described as having grown up in Cheam and attending Sutton Grammar School for Boys.
The Real Elements is a Malawian hip-hop band that gained notoriety in the 1990s and 2000s in Malawi. The group consisted of Marvel, Plan B, Stix, and Q. The group holds a special place in the Malawian music industry because it propagated Malawian hip-hop and paved the way for the Malawian hip-hop genre at a time when they were a few hip-hop artists in Malawi. Their music was considered the cutting edge in the Malawi music scene. Critics argue that is the best urban group that has come out of Malawi. They performed in Malawi and their music was also featured on Channel O beaming Malawian hip-hop for the first time to a Pan African audience. In their UK tours they opened for UK hip-hop artists like Blak Twang and Terri Walker. It was just as their international career was taking off that the group separated. Stix decided to leave the music industry and follow religious pursuits. The group currently is pursuing personal interests.
"You Need Me, I Don't Need You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 August 2011 as the second single from his debut studio album, + ("Plus").
Obaro Ejimiwe is a British singer, songwriter and musician better known by his stage name Ghostpoet. Ejimiwe is based out of London.
Disclosure are an English electronic music duo consisting of brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence. They grew up in Reigate, Surrey. Their debut studio album, Settle, released on 3 June 2013, by PMR Records, was nominated for Best Dance/Electronica Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards. They released a second studio album, Caracal, on 25 September 2015 which was also nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 2016 Grammy Awards. Their third studio album, Energy, was released on 28 August 2020, and was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards, alongside the fourth single from the album, "My High", which was nominated for Best Dance Recording.
Victor Kwesi Mensah, known professionally as Vic Mensa, is an American rapper. He was a member of the group Kids These Days, which broke up in May 2013, after which he released his debut solo mixtape Innanetape. Throughout his career, he's been signed to Virgin EMI Records, Def Jam Recordings, Capitol Records, and Roc Nation.
Dreamville Records is an American record label founded by American rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label is currently distributed through Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. The roster includes Bas, Ari Lennox, Cozz, Omen, Lute, JID, EarthGang, and Cole himself. Dreamville also houses American record producers Elite, Ron Gilmore, and Cedric Brown.
David Rhodes, stagename Rhodes, is an English singer and songwriter from Baldock, Hertfordshire, England. He released his debut EP Raise Your Love on Hometown Records in October 2013 and released his second EP Morning on Rhodes Music on 12 May 2014. His debut album Wishes was released on 18 September 2015.
The Correspondents were a British electro swing duo based in London, formed by vocalist and MC Mr. Bruce and producer Tim Cole in 2007.
Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner, known professionally as Loyle Carner, is an English hip hop musician. After supporting various rappers during their tours, he released his debut album, Yesterday's Gone, in 2017, which garnered a nomination for the 2017 Mercury Prize. He released his second album, Not Waving, but Drowning, in April 2019, and his third, hugo, in October 2022. Carner has been nominated for three Brit Awards.
Rowan Alexander Sawday, better known by his stage name Dizraeli, is a British rapper, poet and musician from Bristol, England. Though rooted strongly in hip-hop traditions, his work draws inspiration from old folk music, recognising the common ground shared by songs of the people from any point in history.
Artist Julius Dubose, known professionally as A Boogie wit da Hoodie, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as his own label imprint, Highbridge the Label. His stage name is derived from the character "Ace Boogie" from the 2002 film Paid in Full, and because he was wearing hoodies all the time, friends gave him the nickname "A Boogie wit da Hoodie".
Janum Khan, better known by his stage name Jaykae, is a British rapper and actor from Small Heath, Birmingham.
Magid Magid, also known as Magid Mah and Magic Magid, is a Somali-British activist and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of Sheffield from May 2018 to May 2019. His appointment attracted significant media attention, as he is the first ethnic-Somali, the youngest-ever, and the first Green Party councillor to hold the role. In May 2019, he was elected to the European Parliament as Green Party MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber.