Jovanni Shemar Sterling (born 27 May 1999) known professionally as Graft, is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and former professional youth

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England.

Early life

Graft was born in

Gledhow Gledhow is a suburb of north east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, east of Chapel Allerton and west of Roundhay. It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Etymology The name ''Gledhow ...

, raised in Chapeltown, and later moved to Oakwood all of which are areas in the

city of Leeds The City of Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell, W ...

. He first started making music as a 14 year old. His first rap freestyle video was released on Leeds-based Youtube channel ''FirstMediaTV'' in February 2015. In February 2016 he released his first music video "Chapters" also on ''FirstMediaTV''. He's also done rap freestyles and music videos on other

Youtube channels such as; Bradford's ''KODH TV (King Of Da Hillz TV)'', Bradford's ''AIRES Films'', Leeds' ''HomeGrownMedia (HGM)'' and Leeds' ''JDZmedia''. In May 2015, he joined the

Leeds United F.C. Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

under 18's youth academy, and previously captained the under 16's team. Leeds United are the team he supports. He then joined

Rotherham United F.C. Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

in July 2016, where he played for their B team and youth academy. On the 30th of June 2017 he was released by Rotherham United.

Film and TV appearances

In October 2020 Graft appeared in series 2 of The Rap Game UK by

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

. The judges as usual were

DJ Target Darren Joseph, known professionally as DJ Target, is a British DJ. Career Joseph is a former member of Roll Deep. Joseph began hosting part of the 1Xtra Takeover, a simulcast across BBC Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra, in September 2013. In 2018, Josep ...

, and

Krept and Konan Krept and Konan is a British hip hop duo from London, consisting of Casyo Valentine "Krept" Johnson BEM (born 4 February 1990, Gipsy Hill) and Karl Dominic "Konan" Wilson BEM (born 3 September 1989, Thornton Heath), the son of Delroy Wilso ...

. The celebrity mentors were

Aitch H, or h, is the eighth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''aitch'' (pronounced , plural ''aitches''), or regio ...

, ''Ashleigh Jade'', ''Ayishat Akanbi'',

D Double E Darren Dixon (born 19 January 1980), known professionally as D Double E, is a British grime MC, DJ and record producer from Forest Gate, East London. He performs both as a solo artist and as a member of the grime duo Newham Generals. Career D ...

, ''Deno'', ''The Fanatix'', JME,

Kenny Allstar Kenny Allstar (born 19 April 1993) is a British DJ and radio presenter who grew up in South East London. He has had residencies on Radar Radio, Reprezent, and BBC Radio 1Xtra. He also hosts a ''Mad About Bars'' series on Mixtape Madness on YouTu ...

Ms Banks Thyra Kigho Deshaun Oji, better known by her stage name Ms Banks, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Camberwell, London. Oji has released three mixtapes as Ms Banks. In 2014, she released her first mixtape titled ''Once Upon a Grind ...

Rapman Andrew Onwubolu , (born 6 June 1989), better known by his stage name Rapman, is a British rapper, record producer, screenwriter and film director. He is known for dealing socially conscious themes, as well as his uniquely vivid style of storytel ...

, Tiffany Calver,

Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The M ...

, ''Young T and Bugsey'', and

Yungen Clive James Brooks (born 1 February 1992), also known as Yungen, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Herne Hill, South London. Yungen gained initial recognition for his 2011 F64 freestyle video for SB.TV, and by 2015 had been nomin ...

. And Graft's rival contestants were ''D Live'', ''DDroid'', ''Lesia'', ''Micahh'', ''Shogun'' and ''Zones''. In May 2021 he appeared in an episode of BBC Three's MOTDx with

Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Pa ...

footballer

Kortney Hause Kortney Paul Duncan Hause (born 16 July 1995) is an English professional footballer of Bermudian descent, who plays as a defender for club Aston Villa. He was a regular for both England U20 and England U21 sides and played in Gareth Southgat ...

. In October 2021 he appeared in 5 episodes of E4's

Celebrity Ghost Trip ''Coach Trip'' is a British reality game show originally broadcast on Channel 4 from 7 March 2005 to 30 June 2006. The programme returned after a three-year break, from 25 May 2009 to 9 March 2012. In early 2013, the show went into hiatus agai ...

. Graft was paired with The Apprentice series 14 winner Sian Gabbidon who is also from Leeds.

Music career

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 GRM Daily (Grime & Rap Music Daily), formerly Grime Daily, is a British urban music outlet and entertainment platform. As the name suggests, the platform is an outlet for UK rap and its various genres, such as UK drill, afroswing, trap, and Briti ...

and ''BBC Three's'' Youtube channels in November 2020. 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''. It was released by ''Krept and Konan's'' record label ''Play Dirty'', as part of the prize for winning ''The Rap Game UK''. 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 Josh Warrington (born 14 November 1990) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world featherweight champion, having held the IBF title between 2018 and 2022. At regional level, he held the British, Commonwealth, European and WBC I ...

, along with ''Krept and Konan'' themselves. It was filmed all across the city of Leeds, and featured local landmarks

Leeds Kirkgate Market Kirkgate Market (pronounced ) is a market complex on Vicar Lane in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest covered market in Europe and a Grade I listed building. There are currently 800 stalls which attract over 10 ...

Leeds Corn Exchange The Leeds Corn Exchange is a Victorian building and former corn exchange in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which was completed in 1863. It is a grade I listed building. History The Corn exchange was designed by Cuthbert Brodrick, a Hull arc ...

, and

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

. He's supported the likes of

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mil ...

Bugzy Malone Aaron Davies (born 20 December 1990), better known by his stage name Bugzy Malone, is a British rapper and actor from Manchester, England. Malone has been described as one of the key artists instigating a "grime revival" moving the UK urban sc ...

Tion Wayne Dennis Junior Odunwo (born 1 September 1993), known professionally as Tion Wayne, is a British rapper and DJ from Edmonton, North London. He appeared on three top-10 singles on UK Singles Chart as a guest – NSG's " Options", "Keisha & Becky" ...

, and Nadia Rose on tour.

Awards and nominations

In October 2018 Graft was nominated in the ''Best Upcoming Artist'' category, at ''The Yorkshire Entertainment Award's'' 2018, which he went on to win. 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. Graft, Leejay, and Prince Omari, wore

, Bradford City A.F.C. and

Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

shirts respectively, to represent their home towns and cities. The video was filmed at the football club stadiums

Valley Parade Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they c ...

and

Kirklees Stadium Kirklees Stadium (currently known due to sponsorship as the John Smith's Stadium) is a multi-use stadium in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of football club Huddersfield Town and rugby league ...

. In February 2019 he won the 2018 MOBO UnSung Award, with Fred Fredas and Ike Chuks finishing as runners up. In November 2020 he won ''The Rap Game UK'', with Lesia and Zones finishing as runners up.

References

External links

* *{{Facebook page, iamgraft, Graft 1999 births Living people Black British male rappers Grime music artists Musicians from Leeds Footballers from Leeds People from Leeds Association footballers not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality