Storming out of Camden in the mid-2000's, N-Dubz became one of the most popular R&B acts in the UK with the release of their debut album “Uncle B” in 2007. After three studio albums, two of which were certified platinum and one that was certified Gold, the band went on hiatus in 2011 after the trio, made up of Dappy (Costadinos Contostavlos), his cousin Tulisa (Tula Contostavlos) and their childhood friend Fazer (Richard Rawson), cited the need for some time away from each other. Mere months after the announcement was made, Dappy signed a solo record deal with Takeover Entertainment, and joined up with Tinchy Stryder to guest on his single “Spaceship.
By September 2011, Dappy had picked an unreleased N-Dubz track called “No Regrets” to be his debut solo single. After reworking and re-recording it, the single was released to huge commercial success, hurtling into the charts at number one and ever since then, Dappy has continued to have huge commercial success with everything he releases. His second single “Rockstar” was a number 2 hit on the charts and the accompanying album “Bad Intentions”, was a top ten hit on the album charts. With a second studio album, “Miracles”, in the pipeline, the sky's the limit for the young rapper, and for that, he comes highly recommended.
Raised by his grandmother in Hackney, North East London, Manderson’s rap excursions began more by chance than choice. At a friend’s house party where everybody was freestyling he was put on the spot and something clicked. After seeing an advert for a freestyle event call LyricPad, Manderson decided to attend and ended up winning the freestyle contest seven times consecutively. As a result a scout from JumpOff spotted the rapper through which Mike Skinner of The Streets came across Manderson and signed him to his label The Beats.
After getting stabbed in the neck by a broken bottle in 2009, the rapper released his debut single “I Need You Tonight” in April 2010. The single peaked at No. 3 on the UK’s Singles Chart and was followed by the No. 5 hit single featuring Lily Allen “Just Be Good to Green”. The singles supported his debut album “Alive Till I’m Dead” (2010) which peaked at No. 2 in the albums chart, released through Virgin Records after The Beats label dissolved.
2010 saw the rapper win MTV Europe Music Awards’ ‘Best Push Act’ award, a MOBO award for Best Hip Hop/Grime Act and BT Digital Music Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. Manderson also received a string of nominations including MOBO’s Best Newcomer and Best Song and three at the Urban Music Awards for Best Newcomer, Best Hip-Hop Act and Best Song (I Need You Tonight).
Manderson’s second album “At Your Inconvenience” released in October 2011 was led by the single of the same name, first premiered on Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 show. The subsequent single “Read All About It” with guest vocals from Emeli Sandé, reached the No. 1 spot in the UK Singles Chart and brought Manderson’s signature hip-hop/grime mix to the popular mainstream.
On September 22, 2013 Professor Green released his long-awaited third studio album “Growing Up in Public” again through Virgin Records. The album features collaborations with artists Tori Kelly, Example, Mr Probz and Rizzle Kicks and the singles “Lullaby” and “Little Secrets”.
Richard Kylea Cowie, born January 19th 1979, is widely known by his pseudonym, Wiley, but in his earlier career, “Wiley Kat. Hailing from Bow, Easy Landon he is a songwriter and record producer, who wears is Caribbean and Trinidad and Antiguan roots on his sleeve. He has surprisingly been on the scene for longer than you would assume having been a member of the UK Garage group Pay As U Go, who achieved a top 40 hit for the song Champagne Dance in 2001. A fantastic forward thinking artist is Wiley, always thinking about all of his endeavours at once, focussing on many projects, including his own.
It was when he released the single “Wot Do U Call It?” in 2004, which is from his album “Treddin’ on Thin Ice” that he created quite a stir in the charts, and it only got better from there over the years. His next big hit was a song called “Wearing My Rolex” in 2008, which made it to number 2 in the charts. Of course, his calling was the song “Heatwave” featuring Ms D, which made it to number 1 in the UK Singles Chart. Wiley continues to write, record release albums and tour and then repeat to this day.
Mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad and madder
Hate him or tolerate him, there’s no real question that Dappy remains one of the most colourful characters that the British music scene has borne witness to over the past few years; whatever his personal transgressions, too, it’s worth noting that during their heyday - admittedly one that was something of a blink and you’ll miss it affair - Dappy’s group, N-Dubz, did an impressive job of reaching out to a certain section of youth society, making music that, irrespective of its critical worth, spoke to kids living in urban areas on their level, about what they knew. That’s why it was disappointing, then, that Dappy’s short-lived solo career seemed like little more than an attempt to become a pop star in his own right; he assumed a kind of rapper-lite persona, bragging about his alleged superiority on ‘Rockstar’, a track that inexplicably featured Queen legend Brian May on guitar. Dappy did tour intimate venues across the UK, too, in support of debut album Bad Intentions; with a full live band, he ran through his own material and choice N-Dubz cuts, but in the years since, legal troubles and a focus on television appear to have curtailed his music career.
The support act... Mokabkast... Was a lot better than her..they wer awesome!!!!!awesome, awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome i would pay to see them live again without lady leshurr included.
Stephen Paul Manderson better known by his stage name Professor Green is without a doubt one of the worst performers on the live circuit. His music, which sits somewhere between spoken word and grime feels like a poor man's Eminem and his vocal tone is just absolutely horrific.
Having stumbled across his show at a festival after being led by friends, he is one of the most arrogant and self assured people I have ever seen take to a stage. He barely acknowledges the audience apart from to tell them to cheer louder for his apparent 'hits'. There is a clear reason as to why the Americans have not paid him as much as a passing glance and his commerciality is fast diminishing in the UK. He has future Big Brother contestant practically tattooed on the other side of his neck, yet with his attitude and mannerisms he is likely to be ejected by day four after head butting somebody who doesn't understand the apparent importance of 'I Need You Tonight'.
“They call me the Stryderman, top East London writer man” is the lyric I seem to recall that Tinchy Stryder burst onto the UK grime scene with, back in 2008; you have to wonder whether he knew then, though, that it was a song that would herald his arrival on the charts proper, prefacing as it did his debut album, Catch 22, which would end up dropping the following summer and charting at a peak of number two. From there on out, Tinchy looked unstoppable, following Dizzee Rascal’s lead by moving from grime to rap and dance pop and becoming a household name in the process; it was a crossover that afforded Stryder huge chart success, with his single ‘Number 1’ becoming the first song in history to actually reach that position on the charts. His quick-fire follow-up album, Third Strike, was a commercial disappointment, reaching only number forty-eight in the UK, but Stryder has remained an energetic live performer, packing out intimate rooms across the country backed by just a turntablist. He’s currently working on album number four, and his prospects once he does resurface shouldn’t be written off; he’s not hit thirty yet and already has achieved more than most do in a lifetime.
Wiley was born 'Richard Kylea Cowie' and he is an English hip hop artist and rap mc. Among his talent arsenal is also songwriting and record producing and he has produced many mainstream hit singles. He was first known as an mc producing underground grime music which is a form of British music that emerged in Bow, London. Even while he was growing in popularity as an mc of the newly debuted grime underground scene, Wiley simultaneously produced multiple crossover hit singles that reached the top ten charts with songs like "Wearing My Rolex", "Never Be Your Woman", and "Heatwave".
After crashing onto the mainstream stage with his uncanny success, Wiley began collaborating with other UK artists earning him a reputation as a highly versatile artist. You can see Wiley's love for music when he performs live as he carries himself with a passionate and charismatic professionalism. Wiley loves to perform underground clubs and stays true to his hip hop roots as a recording artist and producer making him a fan favorite in the UK.
You'll be hard pressed to find a more devoted up and coming artist who has taken the world stage by storm with his talent and flows.