Stephen Paul Manderson (born 27 November 1983), better known by his stage name Professor Green or simply Pro Green, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, television personality and mental health activist from London. Growing up on a council estate in Clapton, east London, Green went on to become a multi-platinum artist, with 3.5 million combined sales in the UK. He is the former co-host of '' Lip Sync Battle UK'' on Channel 5."Rapper Professor Green announces Leeds show", ''Yorkshire Evening Post''
30 July 2019 His autobiography featured on the ''Times'' bestseller list, and he is the patron of the

suicide prevention Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public health ...

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

CALM.

Early life

Manderson's mother gave birth to him when she was 16 years old, splitting with the boy's father shortly after. At six weeks old he required a

pyloromyotomy Pyloromyotomy is a surgical procedure in which a portion of the muscle fibers of the pyloric muscle are cut. This is typically done in cases where the contents from the stomach are inappropriately stopped by the pyloric muscle, causing the stomac ...

operation to his stomach. Manderson was raised by his grandmother, great-grandmother and uncles in a two bedroom flat on the Northwold housing estate in Clapton, Hackney, London, in a home which he describes as chaotic. Green's great-grandmother Edie taught him to read and fed his intellectual curiosity as a child. When she died it had a great impact on him as they were so close. He sold cannabis as a youngster and smoked it on a daily basis between the ages of 16 and 24. Although he was a bright student and dreamed of being a lawyer, he suffered from depression at the loss of his parents and he left

Stoke Newington School Stoke Newington School (SNS) is a secondary school situated in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney. History The school is an amalgamation of Clissold School and Woodberry Down School, with the new school founded in 1982 in the ...

in Clissold Road without any qualifications."Professor Green: white working-class boys becoming more disengaged"
7 January 2018, Guardian"Professor Green: My family values", Guardian, 25 January 2015
/ref> When Green was 24 years old his father died by suicide. Green went to identify the corpse in the morgue. He stopped using any drugs from that point to allow himself to process the death fully.

Career

Lily Allen gig Nottingham 2009 MMB 26 Professor Green

2006–2010

In 2006, Green released his first mixtape, ''Lecture #1''. He won the inaugural JumpOff MySpace £50,000 battle rap tournament in 2008.

2010–11: ''Alive Till I'm Dead''

After touring with

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings publi ...

, Green was signed to

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

and in 2010, Green released his debut album, ''

Alive Till I'm Dead ''Alive Till I'm Dead'' is the first studio album by the English rapper Professor Green, released on 16 July 2010. The album includes guest vocals by Lily Allen, Example, Labrinth and Emeli Sandé, among others. Background "Just Be Good to Gree ...

''. His first single, "I Need You Tonight", peaked at number 3 in the UK, and number 15 in Ireland, and was certified silver in the United Kingdom. He released his second single '

Just Be Good to Green "Just Be Good to Green" is a reworked cover of "Dub Be Good to Me" by British recording artist Professor Green from his debut studio album, ''Alive Till I'm Dead''. Featuring pop singer Lily Allen, the song was released as the second single by ...

', in 2010 in the UK, which featured British singer Lily Allen. It became a top 5 hit in the UK, a top 20 hit in Ireland and on the

European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

. It also peaked at #32 in New Zealand and #49 in Australia. His album was released a week later, and peaked at #2 in the UK and #18 in Ireland. He released

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

on 3 October 2010 as the third single from the album, featuring UK rapper Example (

Elliot Gleave Elliot John Gleave (born 20 June 1982), better known by his stage name Example, is an English musician, singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer. His name arose due to his initials being E.G., which is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase ...

). The single became a top 30 hit on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and the album has been certificated Gold with sales of over 100,000 in the United Kingdom. In 2010 Green joined Lily Allen on stage at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

whilst supporting

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

, to perform her number one hit 'Smile', and 'Just Be Good To Green'. In October 2010, Green released the video for his next single "

Jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

", which features

Maverick Sabre Michael Stafford (born 12 July 1990), better known as Maverick Sabre, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and rapper. Early life Sabre was born in Hackney, London. At age four, he moved with his family to New Ross, County Wexford, where he grew u ...

. It was released on 3 January 2011 and reached #31 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2011 Green was the first social ambassador for the clothing and footwear manufacturer brand Puma, focusing on the fashion and lifestyle side of the brand. In October 2012, Puma launched an exclusive apparel collection designed by Green.

2011–2012: ''At Your Inconvenience''

Green's second album, ''

At Your Inconvenience ''At Your Inconvenience'' is the second studio album by British rapper Professor Green, released on 28 October 2011. " At Your Inconvenience" was released as a promotional single on 26 July. The first official single " Read All About It" was rel ...

'', was released in October 2011. The title track "

" was premiered by

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

on 13 July 2011. That track was released as a promotional single only, as an instant download upon preorder of the album on iTunes. The first official single, " Read All About It" (with guest vocals from Emeli Sandé), was released on 23 October 2011. On 30 October 2011, it reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart. The second single released from the album was " Never Be a Right Time", with guest vocals from

Ed Drewett Edward James Drewett (born 1 April 1988) is a British singer and songwriter who is best known for his contributions and collaborations with acts such as One Direction, Little Mix, Jonas Blue, The Wanted, Olly Murs and SG Lewis. Early life Drew ...

. The EP featured remixes from Document One and Drums of London, and a remix of "How Many Moons" featuring fellow UK rappers Dream McLean and Rinse. The "How Many Moons" remix premiered on Mistajam's show on 1Xtra in January 2012. The third single released was " Remedy", featuring

Ruth-Anne Cunningham Ruth-Anne Cunningham (born 2 April 1986), known professionally as RuthAnne, is an Irish singer-songwriter. She is best known for co-writing "Too Little Too Late", performed by the US singer JoJo, " In the Name of Love" performed by Martin Gar ...

. A remix contest was hosted where producers could download the stems for the track and use them to create a remix. The fourth single was "Avalon" featuring

Sierra Kusterbeck Sierra Kay Kusterbeck (born December 18, 1990), better known as Sierra Kay, is an American singer-songwriter and model. She rose to prominence as the lead vocalist of the rock band VersaEmerge. Early life Kusterbeck was born and raised in St. ...

, which appeared on an advert for the energy drink

Relentless Relentless may refer to: Film * ''Relentless'' (1948 film), an American film directed by George Sherman * ''Relentless'', a 1977 American television film starring Will Sampson * ''Relentless'' (1989 film), an American crime film starring Jud ...

. Pro Green is a brand ambassador for

, and performed for them at a secret gig in his home town of Hackney, London.

2013–2014: ''Growing Up In Public''

A promotional non-album single, titled "

Are You Getting Enough? "Are You Getting Enough?" is a song by British rapper Professor Green, featuring singer Miles Kane. It was released on 21 July 2013 and it only appears on the deluxe version of '' Growing Up in Public''. The track features vocals from the British ...

", featuring

Miles Kane Miles Peter Kane (born 17 March 1986) is an English musician, best known as a solo artist and the co-frontman of the Last Shadow Puppets. He was also the former frontman of the Rascals, before the band announced their break-up in August 2009. ...

and was released in July 2013. After the single failed to chart even in the UK top 100, Green announced that the first "proper" single from the album would be released in January 2014 and the album would follow shortly. Green performed new tracks titled "I Need Church" and "Little Secrets" in his 2013 live sets. Tweets and Instagram posts also revealed a collaboration with

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 ...

and iSHi titled "Gross" and another track titled "The Middle". Green also posted a short clip of a collaboration with iSHI and

Ella Eyre Ella McMahon (born 1 April 1994), known professionally as Ella Eyre, is a British singer and songwriter. She is known for her collaborations with Rudimental on their UK number-one single "Waiting All Night" (2013), which won the 2014 Brit Awar ...

which didn't make the album. Green appeared on

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

show '' 12 Again'', talking about his life at age 12. In April 2013, he released a 54-second teaser of the album's first promotional single "Not Your Man", which features vocals from Thabo. In 2014, he appeared on a remix of "

German Whip "German Whip" is the debut single by grime artist Meridian Dan, released as the lead single from his forthcoming debut album, ''I Am London''. The song features vocals from rappers Big H and JME, and was produced by The HeavyTrackerz, who have ...

" by

Meridian Dan Meridian Dan (born Daniel Lawrence London) is a grime MC from Tottenham, North London. He is best known for his 2014 single "German Whip", and is a former member of seminal grime crews Meridian and Bloodline. Background Lawrence, who is of Guy ...

, also featuring

Skepta Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian grime MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding ...

, Bossman Birdie and

Jordan Stephens Rizzle Kicks are a British hip hop duo from Brighton, England, consisting of Jordan "Rizzle" Stephens (born 25 January 1992) and Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule (born 1991). Their debut album, ''Stereo Typical'', was released in 2011. As of ...

. "Not Your Man" premiered in July 2014, and was released as an "instant grat" download on iTunes when you pre-ordered the album. The album's second "instant grat" promotional single, "I Need Church", was released on 16 July. The lead single from the album, "

Lullaby A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowled ...

" featuring

Tori Kelly Victoria Loren Kelly (born December 14, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter, and voice actress. She first gained recognition after posting videos on YouTube as a teenager, and made it through to Hollywood week on the ninth season of ''Americ ...

, was released in September 2014. '' Growing Up in Public'' was released in September 2014. The album featured guest appearances from James Craise, Tori Kelly,

Mr Probz Dennis Princewell Stehr (born May 15, 1984), better known by his stage name Mr. Probz, is a Dutch music producer, singer and singer-songwriter. He became known for the songs ''Drivin, ''Sukkel voor de liefde'', ''Nothing Really Matters'' and hi ...

, Rizzle Kicks, Whinnie Williams, Thabo, Cas and Dream Mclean.

2016–present: ''Matters of the Heart''

In November 2016, Professor Green released "One Eye on the Door" with an accompanying music video. In June 2019, Green announced that he would be releasing the title track of his second EP, ''Matters of the Heart'' in July, with the 6-track EP set to be released in September. He will be touring the album. In 2020, the track "Bad Decisions" was released featuring

NAHLI Nahli, (professionally known and stylised as NAHLI), is a British singer and songwriter who has worked with DaVinChe. Her moniker is her birth name combined with her dad's stage name (Natalie and Harley). Early life NAHLI grew up in England wi ...

. In August 2021, Green was signed to a worldwide artist services deal with British independent record label

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairman ...

Politics

In June 2017, Green endorsed Labour Party leader

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

in the

2017 UK general election The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the previous general election in 2015; it was the first since 1992 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. The governing C ...

. He told fans to stop "listening to the slander and attempted media blanket" of Corbyn, adding: "He is for peace and not war, that doesn't make him weak, nor does it mean he's spineless or without a backbone – quite the opposite." In November 2019, along with 34 other musicians, he signed a letter endorsing Corbyn in the 2019 UK general election with a call to end austerity. In July 2017, while visiting

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

to film a documentary, he confronted the leaders of

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

political group

Britain First Britain First is a far-right, British fascist political party formed in 2011 by former members of the British National Party (BNP). The group was founded by Jim Dowson, an anti-abortion and far-right campaigner. * ''See also'': The organisa ...

, as reported in the British media, filming an anti-Muslim march he witnessed taking place in the Northern town, interviewing co-leader

Jayda Fransen Jayda Kaleigh Fransen Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His assailant was later convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison. In May 2013, Green was crushed between two cars when travelling to perform a live show at

Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. He was taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg, but returned to appear at

Harper Adams University Harper Adams University, founded in 1901 as Harper Adams College, is a public university located close to the village of Edgmond, near Newport, in Shropshire, England. Established in 1901, the college is a specialist provider of higher educat ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

after just three weeks, followed by a long set at

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

during the last weekend in June, which included him running along the front row of the audience. In 2019 Green fractured his neck during a seizure, just before leaving for a UK tour. Green married

Millie Mackintosh ''Made in Chelsea'' (abbreviated ''MIC'') is a British structured-reality television series broadcast by E4. ''Made in Chelsea'' chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London and South West areas of Belgravia, King's Road, C ...

Babington House Babington House is a Grade II* listed manor house, located in the village of Babington, between Radstock and Frome, in the county of Somerset, England. Converted to a private members club and hotel by Nick Jones, it is currently owned by Soho ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

in 2013. They divorced in 2016. Green's autobiography, ''Lucky'', was published in September 2015. It was a ''Times'' bestseller. Green presented ''Suicide and Me'' on BBC Three on 27 October 2015. Green is also one of the 100 contributors to the book, ''Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You'', of which all proceeds go to

NHS Charities Together The Association of NHS Charities, operating as NHS Charities Together, is a federation of over 250 charitable organisations that support the devolved National Health Service (NHS), their staff, volunteers and patients, in the United Kingdom. ...

and The Lullaby Trust. Green is the patron of the anti-suicide charity CALM. Green is a supporter of Arsenal F.C. In 2021, he welcomed a first born son with his partner, actress

Karima McAdams Karima Adebibe ( ; also known as Karima McAdams; born 24 July 1985) is an English actress and fashion model. Life and career Adebibe was born in Bethnal Green, in Tower Hamlets, London, England but grew up in Tangier before moving back to the ...

. The family live in London.Emily Phillips, ''I know how it feels when the bailiffs come'', Evening Standard, London, 14 December 2021, page 7.

Filmography

Discography

;Albums * ''

'' (2010) * ''

'' (2011) * '' Growing Up In Public'' (2014) ;Mixtapes * '' Lecture #1'' (2006) ;EPs * '' The Green EP'' (2008) * ''Matters of the Heart'' (2019)

Bibliography

* ''Lucky'' (Blink Publishing, / , published in September 2015)

Awards and nominations

BT Digital Music Awards 2010 The BT Digital Music Awards (DMA) was a British music award ceremony held annually for 10 years from 2002 to 2011 (with no ceremony in 2009). Music industry professionals nominated artists, venues and hardware into the Judge's Choice award catego ...

** Breakthrough Artist of the Year – Won ** Best Newcomer – Nominated * MTV Europe Music Awards 2010 ** Best Push Act * MOBO Awards 2010 ** Best Newcomer – Nominated ** Best Song - " I Need You Tonight" - Nominated ** Best Hip Hop/Grime Act - Won * MP3 Awards 2010 ** Radio/ Charts/ Downloads - "

" – Nominated * Urban Music Awards 2010 ** Best Newcomer – Nominated ** Best Hip-Hop Act – Nominated ** Best Song - "I Need You Tonight" – Nominated *

NME Awards The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of ...

2011 ** Best Dancefloor Filler - "

" – Won

References

External links

* *
Professor Green battle profile on Rap Grid
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Professor 1983 births Living people 21st-century English male writers English pop singers English male rappers English male singers English autobiographers Labour Party (UK) people Mental health activists NME Awards winners People from Hackney Central Rappers from London Stabbing survivors British hip hop singers Relentless Records artists Virgin Records artists BT Digital Music Awards winners