Skinnyman (born Alexander Graham Holland, 9 November 1974) is a British

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 ...

who was born in Chapeltown

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 ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and moved to

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...

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 ...

at a young age. He grew up on the Six Acres Estate next to

Andover Estate The Andover Estate, in Holloway, London, Holloway, North London, is a large Islington London Borough Council housing estate which is flanked by Hornsey Road (west), Seven Sisters Road (south), Durham Road (east) and Birnam Road (north). It falls ...

. Among his friends was fellow Leeds-born, London-raised Cornwall DJ Pat Mckay. He formed the Mud Family with Mongo and

Chester P Joey Coombes (born 21 June 1976), better known as Chester P, is a rapper in the UK hip-hop scene. He was a founding member of Task Force, Bury Crew and the M.U.D. Family. He and his brother Farma G are both sons of the late musician Peet Coom ...

, a group which released a number of EPs. These included such records as "Itchy Town" and "Lash Suttin", a reworking of Redman's "Smash Something". Later Supar Novar, Mr. Ti2bs, Uncle Festa and more joined the group. Skinnyman released a solo album, ''

Council Estate of Mind ''Council Estate of Mind'' is the debut studio album by English rapper Skinnyman, released on 9 August 2004 by Low Life Records. It was produced by DJ Flip, Stoned Soldiers, Adam M, and others. The album makes use of samples from ''Made in Br ...

'' in 2004. He appeared in the first episode of ''

Tower Block Dreams ''Tower Block Dreams'' was a British documentary series that broadcast on BBC Three during January 2004, investigating the underground music scene on council estates in London and Southend in the United Kingdom. A total of three 1 hour episodes w ...

'', a 2004 documentary series on

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 ...

which looked into the underground music scene in council estates. He also played a small part in the 2005 interactive TV series ''

Dubplate Drama ''Dubplate Drama'' is a British television drama series, created, written and directed by Luke Hyams, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 11 November 2005. The series follows the plight of teenage grime MC Dionne lead actress played by ( Chanel "Shy ...

''.

2004: ''Council Estate of Mind''

''Council Estate of Mind'' was released on

Low Life Records Joe Christie, better known as Braintax, is a British hip hop artist and producer. Christie had also recorded or appeared under the pseudonyms Brando Flux and Joey Brains. All of his releases were on his own record label, Low Life Records. Origi ...

in 2004, shortly before Skinnyman was again incarcerated. It spent two weeks in the official album chart, with a peak position of number 65. Skinnyman claimed in a 2019 interview with ''

The Face The face is a part of the body, the front of the head. Face may also refer to: Film * ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face'' * ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film * ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...

'' to have "never been paid a penny to this day from ''Council Estate of Mind''." Notably many samples on the album are taken from the 1982

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

Made in Britain ''Made in Britain'' is a 1983 British television play written by David Leland and directed by Alan Clarke. It follows a 16-year-old racist skinhead and his constant confrontations with authority figures. It was broadcast on ITV on 10 July 198 ...

.''

Discography

Studio albums

Singles and EPs

*''Fuck the Hook EP'' (2003, Low Life) *"No Big Ting / Council Estate of Mind" (2004, Low Life) *"I'll Be Surprised / Never Gonna Happen" (2004, Low Life) *"Creatures of the Night / My Life in Rhymes" (2004, PM Muzik) * Skinnyman & DJ Flip – "Forever Rangers / Not Bonnie & Clyde (Instrumentals)" (2005, Netgroove) * Ruben da Silva feat. Skinnyman & Manasseh - "Sensi Skank" (2011, RR008) *''Music Speaks Louder Than Words EP'' (TBC, Mud Fam Music)

Guest appearances

*''The London Convention – The London Allstars (single), 1997'' *''New Mic Order – Task Force, 1999'' *''putt the word out – mystro & jargon, 1999 deal real records'' *'' U.S.S.R. Life from the Other Side –

DJ Vadim Vadim Alexandrovich Peare (russian: Вадим Александрович Пир, Vadim Aleksandrovich Pir ...

, 1999'' *''The Unknown – Mark B & Blade, 2000'' *''Twilight Of The Gods – Skitz (single), 2000'' *''Word Lab – Various Artists, 2000'' *''Big Tings We Inna –

Rodney P Rodney Panton, also known as Rodney P (born in Balham, London, 12 December 1969) 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 ...

(single), 2001'' *''

Biro Funk ''Biro Funk'' is the debut studio album by Braintax, released on Low Life Records in 2001. By the time of the album's release, Braintax was a solo artist - Joseph Christie. Prior to the release of Biro Funk, Braintax had released a number of EPs ...

–

Braintax Joe Christie, better known as Braintax, is a British hip hop artist and producer. Christie had also recorded or appeared under the pseudonyms Brando Flux and Joey Brains. All of his releases were on his own record label, Low Life Records. Origi ...

, 2001'' *''Countryman – Skitz, 2001'' *''The Legacy: Episode 1 – Various Artists, 2001'' *''Bang Y2K –

DJ Vadim Vadim Alexandrovich Peare (russian: Вадим Александрович Пир, Vadim Aleksandrovich Pir ...

(single), 2002'' *''U.S.S.R. The Art Of Listening –

DJ Vadim Vadim Alexandrovich Peare (russian: Вадим Александрович Пир, Vadim Aleksandrovich Pir ...

, 2002'' *''Straight Outta Botley- WESTWOOD VOLUME 2, 2002'' *'' Asylum Speakers –

Foreign Beggars Foreign Beggars were an English hip hop and dubstep group. Since their formation in 2002, the group's trajectory had seen them evolve from an underground hip hop group to an electronic crossover act. The group consisted of four artists individ ...

, 2003'' *''Civilians – Dark Circles, 2003'' *'' The World According to RZA – Various Artists, 2003'' *''Basementality EP (Part 1) – Underground Alliance, 2004'' *''Elementz Universe Vol. 1 – The Elementz (single), 2004'' *''Have Patience – Karl Hinds, 2004'' *''Lets Av It – Karl Hinds Feat. Skinnyman 2004'' *''When I Give My Heart To You – DJ Mentat (single), 2004'' *''Bar Fight – First Rate (single), 2005'' *''Fame And Money – The Booty Bouncers (single), 2005'' *''Skitz Homegrown Vol. 2 – Various Artists, 2005'' *''Tip of Da Mysberg Volume 1 – Mystro, 2005'' *''Up Your Speed (remix) – Sway, 2005'' *''The Whole Nine - Sway, Life & SkinnyMan 2006'' *''U Must Learn - Skinnyman,

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

, Paradise 2006'' *''Change Your Heart – Nemesis & Arrogance Real Records, 2006'' *''One Less Gun – Delta, The Lostralian LP 2006'' *''Another Day – Angela Lawriw, 2006'' *''Shakespeare (remix) Akala'' *''The Boy Who Cried Botley – Dap C Feat. Skinnyman & S.Kalibre NGU Records, 2006'' *''Down – Lunar C feat. Skinnyman, 2017'' *''Thriller - Fliptrix Feat. Skinnyman (Prod. Joe Corfield)

High Focus Records High Focus Records is an independent British hip-hop record label founded by rapper Fliptrix in 2010, following the collapse of Low Life Records. History In 2008, Fliptrix was in the process of releasing his first album on Low Life Records t ...

, 2019'' *''Jack - RATS feat. Skinnyman, When I Say Run Records, 2019'' *''All In Together - Ricky Lix Feat. Cappadonna, Skinnyman & Harry Ixer (2021)'' *''TrueMendous - Yourself or The World? Feat. Skinnyman (Prod. Illinformed)

, 2022''

References

External links

Official website

BBC Radio 1 InterviewMud Family discography
at the UK Hip Hop Database {{Authority control English male rappers Musicians from Leeds 1974 births Living people English rappers English hip hop musicians