Kwasi Esono Danquah III[2][3][4] (/ˈkweɪsidæŋˈkwɑː/KWAY-see dang-KWAH; born 14 September 1986),[1][5] known by his stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor.
Stryder's recordings date back to 1998. He appeared in 2000[12] on pirate radio along with Dizzee Rascal and Wiley,[13] and was part of grime collective and record production team Ruff Sqwad from 2001. His pseudonym Tinchy Stryder derives from the video game Strider and from the nickname given to him "Tinchy":[9][14] his height at 5ft 3 in (1.60m).[15]
In 2002, the grime group Roll Deep was founded by Wiley, and included Stryder and Dizzee Rascal. They were making music that was a derivative of garage. For a while, there was not even a name for it. The name "grime" was the one that stuck.[16] While performing with Roll Deep, Stryder performed some songs including "U Were Always" in 2002, which was released years later on Roll Deep's compilation album Street Anthems in 2009. He also performed on Roll Deep's 2004 mixtape, Creeper Vol. 2.[16]
2006–08: Star in the Hood
The debut album by Stryder, Star in the Hood, was released on 13 August 2007 on Takeover. The album spawned two main singles, "Breakaway", which was released on 9 April 2007 and "Something About Your Smile", was released on 6 August 2007. Bonus track "Mainstream Money" was also released as an underground single in November 2007.[14]
In 2008, Stryder released his debut extended play, Cloud 9 The EP, which was released on 31 March, also on Takeover.[17] This was succeeded by him and grime record producer Maniac collaborating on the album, Tinchy Stryder vs. Maniac, which was released on 24 November 2008.[18] Only one single was released from the album, "Rollin", which was released in October 2008.[19] This track was also included on his 2009 second solo studio album, Catch 22, as part of the, Deluxe 2-Disc Edition, and he would collaborate with American band Gang Gang Dance on their album Saint Dymphna that was released in October 2008.
2008–2010: Catch 22
Stryder began a partnership with English record producer and songwriter Fraser T Smith.[20] According to Smith in an interview with HitQuarters, "Kwasi had no shortage of beats and cool sounding production, but I think he wanted to try and break through into the mainstream, and I had some experience crossing underground over into mainstream having worked with artists like Craig David."[20]
The single "Stryderman", was released on 20 July 2008. It was the first single taken from Catch 22. The second single, "Take Me Back", was released on 19 January 2009.[21][22] His third single, a collaboration with the English hip-hop band N-Dubz entitled "Number 1," peaked at number 6 on the European Hot 100 Singles and number 1 in the UK & Ireland and became the first single with the title "Number 1" to peak at #1 in any country. His fourth single from Catch 22, "Never Leave You", was released on 3 August 2009 with the album following on 17 August 2009. "Never Leave You" peaked at number 5 on the European Hot 100 Singles on the week of its release. Catch 22 debuted at number 11 on the European Top 100 Albums. The fifth and final single from Catch 22 is "You're Not Alone," which was released in November 2009 and samples the Olive song of the same name.[23]
In February 2010, Stryder headline toured for the third time, he invited the English singer Example and rapper JME as his supporting acts. The tour was Stryder's second sell-out tour after he toured in 2009 and helped in raising the profile of Example.[24] Stryder opened on the pyramid stage at the England Glastonbury Festival, on Saturday, 27 June 2010. He also performed at the O2 Arena in England, for the Transformation Trust's first birthday alongside The Saturdays.[25][26]
2010–11: Third Strike
Stryder's third solo studio album, Third Strike was released on Monday, 15 November 2010 and was an unsuccessful album.[27] Stryder began recording Third Strike shortly after he completed his previous album; he then released a promotional single, "Gangsta?", six months prior to the release of the studio album. This was followed by the release of the first official single, a year from the day he released his second studio album. He began working with Fraser T Smith who had also worked on his second studio album. English singer Taio Cruz produced the largely,[clarification needed] along with Fraser T Smith. The album title was picked by the title of Street Fighter III 3rd Strike which was also a massive success. Third Strike features several artists, including English singer Amelle, with whom he collaborated on Catch 22 on the single "Never Leave You".
The first single from the scrapped studio album entitled Full Tank is "Spaceship" and it features English singer and songwriter Dappy from N-Dubz. Stryder performed at the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final in support of the single, making him the first rapper in history to perform at a UEFA Champions League final.[28][29]
He teamed up with Scottish DJs and record producers Calvin Harris and Matt Burns, credited as 'BURNS', for the second single from the scrapped album, "Off the Record".[30] On 3 November 2011 Stryder announced in an interview that his fourth album would be entitled; "Full Tank".[31]
On 3 January 2012 Stryder released the video for the third single from Full Tank entitled "Bright Lights" which features English singer Pixie Lott. There is also another version of the song entitled 'Bright Lights Part II' that is featured on Pixie Lott's second studio album, Young Foolish Happy.[32] In various media outlets in July 2012, Stryder spoke of the single "Help Me" being released in September 2012. The video of the single was released on 15 August 2012, featuring singer and songwriter Camille Purcell.[33] It has been described as "unmistakably Tinchy" and "among his better work".[33]
On 25 December 2012, on his Facebook page, Stryder released a freestyle titled "Look at Me Now" along with it he said "Look out for the first single from my fourth album early next year. Can't wait to share this new music with you all!". This being said means "Spaceship", "Off the Record", "Bright Lights" and "Help Me" became non-album singles.
2014–present: The Cloud 9 LP / 360°
Four years after his last album, Stryder released a promotional single, "Misunderstood", on 14 April 2014. It was slated to feature on his forthcoming fourth album, but didn't make the final cut.
"ESG", the album's lead single, was released on 9 June 2014.[34] It features vocals from Takura and production by Show N Prove. Along with the release of the single, Tinchy announced that the new album would be titled 360°.
Stryder participated in the fourteenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, having been chosen by the public to complete one trial.[36] He left on day 21.
On 26 April 2015, Tinchy released a new non-album single, "Imperfection", featuring vocals from Fuse ODG.[37] Despite being playlisted by numerous UK radio stations, the song failed to enter the UK Singles Chart.
On 8 May and 16 May 2015 respectively, Tinchy released "Six Four Stuff" and "Blurt" (featuring K2 World) for free download via SoundCloud. With the two grime singles, he announced that the new album was to be titled The Cloud 9 LP. On 23 August 2015, Tinchy released a video for a new song, "Sekky", which features vocals from fellow Ruff Sqwad member Roachee and production from Sir Spyro and Rude Kid.[38] This was the second song from the album to be premiered.
On 3 March 2016, Tinchy announced that The Cloud 9 LP / 360° will be released as a fourteen-track double album on 8 April 2016. This announcement was accompanied by the release of "Allow Me" (featuring Jme) as an "instant grat" single; those who pre-order the new album can instantly download the new single.[39]
Business ventures and endorsements
In September 2006, Stryder created the clothing brand Star in the Hood, named after his pseudonym "Star in the Hood".[14] In June 2010, he aligned Takeover Entertainment Limited, with entertainment powerhouses Roc Nation LLC and Live Nation, and created Takeover Roc Nation.[40] The joint venture ended in 2013 but he remains close to Roc Nation.
On 8 November 2011, Honda's motorbike division hired Stryder for their pan-European campaign. The campaign featuring Stryder was supported by Facebook, Inc., and a tie-up with fashion brand GAS in order to push the Vision 50, Honda's 50cc entry level scooter. The Vision 50 was launched on 8 November 2011 at the EICMA (Milan Motorcycle Show) in Milan, Italy along with six other bike models.[42]
Stryder revealed in January 2010 that he wanted to become a footballer as a youth.[47][48][49] Stryder was a left-footed player who could play as a striker or second striker, and was enrolled at the academy of Wimbledon F.C. from 2000 to 2003 and the youth team of Leyton Orient F.C. from 2003 to 2006.[50] Stryder has a daughter, Arabella, with fiancée Amba Miller.[51] In May 2021, they had a son.[52]
Roll Deep are a British grime crew. They were founded in 2001 by Wiley shortly before the disbandment of UK garage crew Pay As U Go Cartel.
Star in the Hood is the debut studio album by British-Ghanaian rapper Tinchy Stryder. It was released on 13 August 2007 on Takeover Entertainment
The discography of Tinchy Stryder, a recording artist whose real name is Kwasi Danquah, consists of four studio albums, one compilation album, one collaboration album, five extended plays, four mixtapes, 17 singles, five singles as a featured artist, and ten collaborations. Danquah has sold over 22.2 million digital singles worldwide. Danquah performed under the stage name Stryder from 1997 to 2006, and has performed under the stage name Tinchy Stryder since 2006.
Catch 22 is the second full-length solo studio album by recording artist Tinchy Stryder. After three successful singles leading up to the album, the album was then released on 17 August 2009. The album is produced and co-written by award-winning producer and songwriter Fraser T Smith, whose previous credits include James Morrison, Craig David and Kano.
"Stryderman" is the lead single from recording artist Tinchy Stryder's second studio album, Catch 22. The single was released on 20 July 2008. The single was included on BBC Radio 1's C Playlist and eventually debuted at number 73 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Stryder's first single to chart on the UK Singles Chart.
"Never Leave You" is a song by British rapper Tinchy Stryder, released as the fourth single from his second studio album, Catch 22 as a digital download on 2 August 2009 and then as a CD single on 3 August 2009. The song was written by Stryder with lyrics by Taio Cruz and features guest vocals by Amelle, a member of British girl group the Sugababes. It received airplay on radio stations in the UK including BBC 1Xtra. "Never Leave You" has also reached "The A-List" on the BBC Radio 1 playlist. The music video was released on Stryder's official website on 24 June 2009.
Third Strike is the third solo studio album by recording artist Tinchy Stryder, and his second studio album with Universal Island Records. It was released on 15 November 2010. Prior to the release of Third Strike, Stryder featured on the grime collective Roll Deep's first compilation album, Street Anthems, which was released on 19 October 2009. Third Strike was preceded by a free downloadable extended play (EP), III EP.
"Spaceship" is a song by rapper Tinchy Stryder and hip hop vocalist Dappy. It was meant to be the first single released from his fourth studio album entitled, Full Tank but Full Tank was scrapped making it a non-album single. It was released on 12 June 2011 as a digital download. The single features vocals from Rapper/singer Dappy of N-Dubz, as well as uncredited back up vocals from Tulisa Contostavlos, also from N-Dubz. This is Tinchy Stryder's first top five single since 2009.
Ruff Sqwad are an English grime crew. The group was formed in 2001 in Bow, East London. Various members and affiliates of the crew are considered key figures in the early development of grime music.
Takeover Entertainment was a British entertainment company. The organization operates an independent record label, talent agency, a music production company, as well as its own music publishing house. The company was founded in 2006 and is run by Kwasi Danquah III, Archie Lamb and Jack Foster. It specializes in producing R&B, hip hop and electronic music. It was dissolved in October 2013
Takeover Roc Nation was an American-British entertainment company, which acts as a co-owned subsidiary of Takeover Entertainment and Roc Nation. It was founded in June 2010 by American rapper and entrepreneur Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and English rapper and entrepreneur Kwasi "Tinchy Stryder" Danquah III of the company, Takeover Entertainment Limited. The partnership was dissolved in 2013 with the shutdown of Takeover Entertainment.
Tinchy Stryder vs. Maniac is a collaborative studio album by recording artist Tinchy Stryder and grime record producer Maniac. The album produced one single, "Rollin Remix", and is most noted for bringing Maniac's productions to a wider audience.
"Take the World" is a promotional single released by rapper Tinchy Stryder from this third studio album, Third Strike. The song was co-written by Takeover Entertainment singer-songwriter Ayak Thiik, and produced by TMS who also produced the promotional single Gangsta?. It features vocals from Roc Nation recording artist Bridget Kelly. British singer Cherri V performs Kelly's part when the song is performed live. Prior to the song being recorded, Bridget Kelly had in the past regularly filled in for Alicia Keys when performing the song Empire State of Mind with Jay-Z.
Takeover/Cloud 9 is a British music publishing company. The organisation is a co-owned subsidiary of Takeover Entertainment Ltd and EMI Music Publishing. It was founded by English rapper Kwasi Danquah III and EMI Music Publishing's UK president and EMI European creative president, Guy Moot, as a publishing arm solely for Danquah's music in December 2008.
This is the videography of Tinchy Stryder, and it consists of twenty-five music videos as a lead artist, fifteen music videos as a featured artist, and three music video cameo appearances, one film and one television appearances. In total he has been in a total of forty-three music videos, one movie and television program to date.
Goji Electronics, Inc. is a producer of computer, smartphone, audio products and equipment headquartered in Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom. The audio division of the company was founded by grime artist and entrepreneur Rav and DSG International plc president Lord Kalms, and primarily produces products under the brand Goji-Rav.
"Help Me" is a song by British rapper Tinchy Stryder, and was released on 30 September 2012, as the fourth single from his cancelled fourth studio album Full Tank. Full Tank was scrapped so Help Me became a non-album single. The song, produced by Art Bastian, was written by Tinchy Stryder, Camille Purcell and Ollie Jacobs, and features uncredited vocals by Camille Purcell.
"Mario Balotelli" is a song by grime crew Ruff Sqwad. The song is taken from their EP 2012. It was released on 24 January 2012 as a digital download.
"Lights On" is a single from British grime artist Wiley, featuring vocals from Angel and Tinchy Stryder. It was released as the fourth single from his ninth studio album The Ascent on 7 June 2013 for digital download in the United Kingdom. The song was written by Richard Cowie, Sirach Charles, Kwasi Danquah and produced by Parallel and Angel.
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