Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined

Roll Deep Roll Deep (formerly Roll Deep Entourage) 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. The group have had two UK No. 1 singles, " Good Times" and " Green Ligh ...

before they became founding members of

Boy Better Know Boy Better Know, often abbreviated as BBK, is a British grime collective and record label. The collective was founded in North London in 2005 as an independent record label by brothers Jamie and Joseph Adenuga, better known as Jme, and Skepta. ...

in 2005. With Boy Better Know, Skepta clashed with fellow MC Devilman for the video release ''

Lord of the Mics Lord of the Mics (also known as LOTM) is a series of recorded grime clashes, headed by Jammer and Chad ‘Ratty’ Stennett. Each edition of LOTM features grime MC's participating in recorded clashes, where they 'battle' each other over grime ins ...

2'', in what is remembered as one of the biggest clashes in

history. Skepta released his debut studio album ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' in 2007 and his second album, ''

Microphone Champion ''Microphone Champion'' is the second studio album by English grime MC Skepta, released on 1 June 2009. It includes the single "Too Many Man" featuring Boy Better Know, also featured on Wiley's own album, '' Race Against Time'', and Shorty's " ...

'' in 2009, both independently; while his third studio album ''

Doin' It Again ''Doin' It Again'' is the third studio album by English grime artist Skepta. It features artists N-Dubz, Preeya Kalidas, Charlee Drew, Boy Better Know and Chip and was released on 31 January 2011 on Boy Better Know and All Around the World ...

'' was released in 2011 by AATW. He made his acting debut in the 2015 film '' Anti-Social''. Skepta's fourth studio album, '' Konnichiwa'' (2016), featured the hit singles " That's Not Me" and "

Shutdown Shutdown or shut down may refer to: * Government shutdowns in the United States * Shutdown (computing) * Shutdown (economics) * Shutdown (nuclear reactor) Arts and entertainment Music * "Shut Down" (The Beach Boys song), 1963 * ''Shut Down Volu ...

". The album, which was widely acclaimed, won the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

. In 2018, he produced and was featured on American rapper

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

's single "

Praise the Lord (Da Shine) "Praise the Lord (Da Shine)" is a song by American rapper ASAP Rocky, with production and featured vocals from English rapper Skepta, released as the second single from his third studio album '' Testing'' on June 26, 2018. It marks the third col ...

", which became both artists' highest-charting single and a global hit. In 2019, Skepta released '' Ignorance Is Bliss'', which charted in fifteen countries. ''

Insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

'' (2020), a collaborative album with British rappers

Chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...

and

Young Adz D-Block Europe, often abbreviated to DBE, is a British hip hop collective consisting of Adam Nathaniel "Young Adz" Williams, Ricky Earl "Dirtbike LB" Banton and Lil Pino from Lewisham, London. Their name is a reference to The Lox (also known as ...

, became Skepta's third album to reach the top 10 of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. Skepta has been nominated for three

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, including the

Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist The Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual ...

. His influence on contemporary

British popular culture British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and the impact of the British Empir ...

as a key figure in the grime scene saw him appear on

Debrett's Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company, publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John Deb ...

2017 list of the most influential people in the UK. He received a

Nigerian chieftaincy The Nigerian Chieftaincy is the chieftaincy system that is native to Nigeria. Consisting of everything from the country's monarchs to its titled family Elder (administrative title), elders, the chieftaincy as a whole is one of the oldest contin ...

on 4 April 2018, with his title being "Amuludun of Odo-Aje".

Early life

Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. was born on 19 September 1982, to Nigerian parents, of respective Yoruba (paternal) and Igbo (maternal) backgrounds, in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

. He is the eldest of four children; fellow musician Jme, radio presenter

Julie Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...

and graphic designer Jason.

Career

2003–2006: Career beginnings and ''Greatest Hits''

Skepta was originally a DJ from Tottenham-based grime collective Meridian Crew. The Meridian Crew performed 'sets' or sessions on

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...

(most notably Heat FM 96.6) where fellow crew members sometimes referred to him as "Scoopa Daniels". Early in his career, Skepta released instrumentals including "DTI (Pirate Station Anthem)" and "Private Caller". Skepta began MCing shortly before Meridian Crew disbanded in 2005, after which Skepta, alongside his brother Jme, joined

for a short period of time before becoming founding members of

in 2006. Skepta was convinced to begin MCing by

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 ...

after his records were taken away from him by the police. Following the formation of

, Skepta clashed with fellow MC Devilman for the DVD Lord of the Mics 2, in what is remembered as one of the biggest clashes in grime history. Shortly after the clash, Skepta released a

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

entitled "''Joseph Junior Adenuga''". Skepta publicly released his debut album ''

'' on 17 September 2007, on his label

2008–2011: ''Microphone Champion'' and ''Doin' It Again''

Skepta self-released the first single "

Rolex Sweep "Rolex Sweep" is a song by British grime artist Skepta. The song was released as a digital download on 15 September 2008 as the lead single from his second studio album ''Microphone Champion'' (2009). In September 2008, the song peaked at numbe ...

" in September 2008 and reached number 89 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 ...

. Skepta then released the album ''

'' on 1 June 2009. He then also released single "Too Many Man" with Jme, Wiley, Frisco and Shorty, which went to chart at number 79. Skepta has released five singles off his third studio album ''

'' (first with a major label), titled " Bad Boy", " Rescue Me", " Cross My Heart" featuring

Preeya Kalidas Preeya Kalidas (born 21 June 1980) is a British singer and actress. She played Amira Masood in the soap opera '' EastEnders'', from 2009 to 2012. She released the single "Shimmy" in July 2010, taken from her proposed debut album ''(I'm Over It ...

, " So Alive" and "

Amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

", as well as a video for the

Hello Good Morning "Hello Good Morning" is a song by American rapper and producer Diddy and his group Dirty Money, from their debut album, '' Last Train to Paris''. It was released from March 30, 2010 as the album's third single. The electronic dance song inc ...

(Grime Remix). Three singles charted in the Top 40 of the

, with " Rescue Me" being the most successful at number 14. "Cross My Heart" came in at number 31 and dropped out of the Top 40 a week later. ''Doin' It Again'' spent 3 weeks in the top 100 album charts and debuted and peaked at number 19 on its first week of release. In 2011, Skepta caused a controversy by releasing a

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

music video of his single "All Over the House".

2012–present: ''Blacklisted'', ''Konnichiwa'' and ''Ignorance Is Bliss''

In 2012, Skepta released two singles from his fourth forthcoming album. Both "

Hold On Hold On may refer to: Music Albums and EPs * ''Hold On!'' (album), by Herman's Hermits, 1966 * ''Hold On'' (Trapeze album), or the title song, 1978 * ''Hold On'' (High Inergy album), 1980 * ''Hold On'' (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album), 1987 * ...

" and " Make Peace Not War" were Top 40 charting singles in the UK but were a departure from Skepta's usual sound. Skepta's second major label album was intended to be released in the fourth quarter of 2011, entitled ''The Honeymoon'' but was delayed till 2012. After a disappointing response from the first two singles Skepta decided to release a purchasable mixtape, titled ''Blacklisted''. It was released on 2 December 2012 along with music videos to support the release prior to the release. Skepta photo

In March 2014, Skepta provided a verse for the remix of "German Whip" 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 ...

, and in the same month, he released his new single, " That's Not Me", featuring his brother Jme, peaking at number 21 on the UK charts. The single's music video won the award for Best Video at the 2014

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

. Upon receiving the award, Skepta stated that the video cost him £80. In late 2014, Skepta released another single titled "It Ain't Safe" featuring

ASAP Bari Jabari Shelton (born December 23, 1991 in Harlem, New York), better known as ASAP Bari (stylized as A$AP Bari) or Young Lord, is an American streetwear designer, Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, and convicted sex offender. He is known as a co-fo ...

. This was followed in early 2015 with "Shutdown", as well as features on "Red Eye to Paris" by

Flatbush Zombies Flatbush Zombies (stylized as Flatbush ZOMBiES) is an American hip hop group from the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 2010. The group is composed of rappers Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice and Erick Arc Elliott, with Elliott al ...

and the remix of " Ojuelegba" by

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern-day Afrobeats music scene, Wizkid is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential Afri ...

, also featuring

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

. Skepta and others joined

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

at a surprise show in London, performing numerous songs together during a shared set. He was also named one of '' GQ''s 50 best dressed British men in 2015. In an interview it stated that Skepta's making his acting debut in 2015 film '' Anti-Social'', released initially in May. On 14 February 2016 Skepta released " Ladies Hit Squad" featuring grime artist D Double E and American rapper

ASAP Nast Tariq Amar Devega (born July 26, 1990), better known by his stage name ASAP Nast (stylized as A$AP Nast), is an American rapper, songwriter and model from Harlem, New York. Nast is best known as a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob. As p ...

, of the New York-based

ASAP Mob ASAP Mob (stylized as A$AP Mob, ASAP being an acronym for "Always Strive And Prosper") is an American hip hop collective formed in 2006 in Harlem, New York City, that consists of rappers (most of whom carry the "ASAP" moniker), record producers, ...

. Through a post on Instagram, Skepta announced that his album, '' Konnichiwa'' was due to be released on 6 May 2016. ''Konnichiwa'' became Grime's highest-charting album, peaking at number 2 in the UK music charts. Konnichiwa features songs such as " That's Not Me", "

" and "

Man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

". The release of ''Konnichiwa'' was celebrated with a launch party on 5 May 2016 held in Tokyo and live streamed on Boiler Room, featuring a live performance of the entire album by Skepta and supporting performances from Japanese trap artists

Kohh , better known by his stage name KOHH, is a Japanese hip hop recording artist from Oji, Kita, Tokyo. Early life Chiba was born in Oji, Kita, Tokyo. He was raised by a single mother along with his younger brother. His younger brother is also ...

, Dutch Montana, Loota, and DJ Riki. Skepta began his "Banned From America" two-part, 14-show tour on 16 April 2017 at the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

, which covered cities throughout the United States and Europe. The tour was named as such in reference to Skepta's forced cancellation of his 2016 "No Fear" American tour in support of ''Konnichiwa'', when his application for a visa to enter the United States was denied. Skepta released his ''Vicious EP'' on 31 October 2017, with songs featuring

Lil B Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), professionally known as Lil B and as his alter ego The BasedGod, is an American rapper. Lil B has recorded both solo and with Bay Area group The Pack. His solo work spans several genres, ...

, and

Section Boyz Smoke Boys (formerly Section Boyz and before that Squeeze Section) was a British hip hop collective started by British rapper Ghost in 2010. On 25 September 2015 the group's second mixtape '' Don't Panic'' entered at number 36, making their fir ...

. In the summer of 2017, rumours on the underground dance scene suggested an imminent collaboration between Skepta and drum'n'bass pioneer

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in t ...

. This was confirmed in Goldie's 2017 memoir ''All Things Remembered'', which refers to him having done a track with Skepta. It has not yet been released. Skepta featured on ASAP Rocky's "

", which was released in May 2018. The single charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Also in May, Skepta released his single "

Pure Water Purified water is water that has been mechanically filtered or processed to remove impurities and make it suitable for use. Distilled water was, formerly, the most common form of purified water, but, in recent years, water is more frequently puri ...

", which peaked at number 78 in the UK. He followed this in June with " Energy (Stay Far Away)" with

, which reached number 59. In December 2019 he appeared as himself in a

Grand Theft Auto Online ''Grand Theft Auto Online'' is an online multiplayer action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 1 October 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, 18 November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xb ...

expansion as a radio host with

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He has been described by MTV as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". In 2010, after amassing ...

. Brown also lent his voice to another fictional character in the game. He also collaborated with Gorillaz and Tony Allen on the song "

How Far? "How Far?" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, featuring Tony Allen and Skepta. The track was released on 2 May 2020 without any prior announcement as the fourth single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, '' Song Machine, Season One: ...

" in May 2020. On 30 July 2021, Skepta released his EP, ''All In''. In 2022, Skepta signed with Wasserman Music for worldwide representation.

Personal life

On 4 April 2018, he was installed as a chief in his Nigerian hometown in

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

, receiving the

chieftaincy A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...

title of the Amuludun of Odo-Aje. The title means "Chief Entertainer of Odo-Aje". Skepta has one child, a daughter. Skepta is also a visual artist, with his paintings made during the COVID lockdown being put on display by Sotheby's in September 2022 for the "Contemporary Curated" art series.

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (2007) * ''

'' (2009) * ''

'' (2011) * '' Konnichiwa'' (2016) * '' Ignorance Is Bliss'' (2019) Collaborative albums * ''

'' (with

and

) (2020) Mixtapes * ''Joseph Junior Adenuga'' (2006) * ''Been There Done That'' (2010) * ''Community Payback'' (2011) * ''Blacklisted'' (2012) * ''The Tim Westwood Mix'' (2015) * ''All In'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1982 births Black British male rappers British male rappers English male rappers Yoruba musicians Living people English people of Yoruba descent English people of Nigerian descent NME Awards winners Grime music artists People from Tottenham Rappers from London 21st-century British rappers 21st-century British male musicians All Around the World Productions artists