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Mpho Skeef (pronounced /mpʰo skʲɪəf/), known by her stage name of Mpho, is a South African-born British singer-songwriter based in London.


Early and personal life

Skeef was born during the apartheid regime in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
to
Sipho Mabuse Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse (born in Johannesburg, 2 November 1951) is a South African singer. Sipho grew up in Soweto. His mother was Zulu and his father was Tswana. Sipho and his band used to be managed by Solly Nkuta, After dropping out of scho ...
and Mary Edwards. Her first name is a
SeSotho Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free Sta ...
word meaning "gift". Mpho spent her first birthday imprisoned in Caledon Square, Cape Town with her mother who was an anti-apartheid campaigner. Daily Record â€
Rising star MPHO could be Britain's answer to Beyonce
25 June 2009 By Bev Lyons
She moved to the United Kingdom at the age of four and was brought up in
Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The na ...
,
Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...
and
Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
by her mother and her stepfather, Eugene Skeef. She attended the
BRIT School The BRIT School is a British performing and creative arts school located in Selhurst, Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, music, music technology, theatre, musical theatre, danc ...
in Croydon.


Career

Mpho began working in the music industry in 2004, initially as a backing vocalist for artists such as
Ms Dynamite Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards. Early years She was born Niomi Arleen Mc ...
,
Natasha Bedingfield Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British singer and songwriter. Bedingfield released her debut album, '' Unwritten'', in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music. It enjoyed intern ...
, Ty,
Terri Walker Terri Walker (born Chanelle Gstettenbauer, 14 April 1979) is an English R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Walker has released four albums in the United Kingdom, ''Untitled'', '' L.O.V.E'', ''I Am'' and ''Entitled''. She also provided the majority ...
,
Skinnyman Skinnyman (born Alexander Graham Holland, 9 November 1974) is a British rapper who was born in Chapeltown Leeds, Yorkshire and moved to Finsbury Park, London at a young age. He grew up on the Six Acres Estate next to Andover Estate. Among his ...
,
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 ...
, and Spacek. She was a lead vocalist on the
Bugz in the Attic Bugz in the Attic is a collective of DJs and producers based in West London, who are prominent in broken beat. The collective includes Orin Walters (Afronaught), Paul Dolby (Seiji), Kaidi Tatham, Daz-I-Kue, Alex Phountzi (Neon Phusion), Cliff Sc ...
single "Booty La La", which reached number 44 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 ...
. She signed to the Arts Council-funded record label Documented Records and, in 2005, released her debut single, "Comin' for Ya", and the four-track EP ''Don't Like You''. By late 2006, Mpho had joined
PIAS Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1983 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European independent labels in the early 1980s. Play It Again Sam's prominent ea ...
/
Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...
on the strength of ''Don't Like You'', and was preparing an electro-influenced album titled ''To Spite My Face'' with producers including Spacek,
dBridge dBridge, also known as Velvit (born Darren White), is an English drum and bass record producer whose career began during the genre's conception in the early 1990s.IMO Records"dBridge Biography", ''IMO Records'', 17 October 2011. Retrieved 27 Oc ...
, and Yan Murawski. She also sang on the track "This Island Earth" on
Coldcut Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, ...
's 2006 album ''
Sound Mirrors An acoustic mirror is a passive device used to reflect and focus (concentrate) sound waves. Parabolic acoustic mirrors are widely used in parabolic microphones to pick up sound from great distances, employed in surveillance and reporting of o ...
'', and released a second solo single, "What You Waiting For?", the same year. By 2009, sessions for the album — now titled ''Pop Art'' — had gone into a heavily pop music direction with producers such as Future Cut,
Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artistsSwitch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...
. As such, Mpho issued the mixtape ''Mpho & the Art of Pop'' in January 2009 with DJ Beware. To fund extensive promotion of the album ''Pop Art'', Wall of Sound brokered Mpho a five-album deal with
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
's
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
subsidiary. Mpho's first single on Parlophone, the Switch-produced "Box N Locks" (which samples
Martha and the Muffins Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian rock band, active from 1977 to the present. Although they only had one major international hit single " Echo Beach" under their original band name, they had a number of hits in their native Canada, and th ...
' "
Echo Beach "Echo Beach" is a song recorded by the Canadian group Martha and the Muffins in 1979. Written by band member Mark Gane, it was released as a single from their album '' Metro Music'' in 1980 and went on to reach number 5 in Canada, number 6 in Aus ...
"), was released in July 2009 and peaked at number 49 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 ...
. ''Pop Art'' was scheduled to follow in October 2009, but following minimal airplay of second single "See Me Now" (featuring rapper Wale, the album was shelved. Mpho subsequently announced via Twitter that Parlophone had dropped her due to creative differences. Also in October, Mpho featured on the charity single "
I Got Soul "I Got Soul" is a 2009 charity single by charity group War Child UK, recorded by Young Soul Rebels. It was released on 19 October 2009. It is a cover of The Killers' " All These Things That I've Done". A spokesman for War Child UK said, "We're ...
" with artists such as
Frankmusik Vincent James Turner (born 9 October 1985), better known by his stage name Frankmusik ( ) (and between 2011 and 2012, by the name Vincent Did It), is an English synth-pop musician. Early life Vincent was born on 9 October 1985 in the Thornton H ...
and
VV Brown Vanessa Brown (born 24 October 1983), known professionally as VV Brown, is a British indie pop singer-songwriter, model and record producer. Career Early life and career Vanessa Brown was born in Northampton, England. She is the eldest of six s ...
under the group name Young Soul Rebels; the single reached number ten in the UK, and proceeds went to War Child UK. In 2010, Mpho opened a vintage tea shop in Brixton with her sister. In 2012, she performed a one-off gig at London's
Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...
gallery as part of an event celebrating the South London Black Music Archive.


Artistry

Mpho's influences include
André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), better known as André 3000, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a part of southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi. B ...
of OutKast,
Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed wi ...
,
Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...
,
Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...
,
Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...
,
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
,
Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...
, and
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
—artists, she says, "who are creative and don't just follow a clear and obvious formula". She frequently includes a cover of Bush's "
Running Up That Hill "Running Up That Hill", titled "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" on some releases, is a song by the British singer and songwriter Kate Bush. It was released in the United Kingdom as the lead single from Bush's album '' Hounds of Love'' o ...
" in her live set lists. More generally, Mpho has cited music of the 1970s and 1980s as an inspiration. Mpho has rejected genre labels and titles ascribed to her music, saying: "I find it extremely frustrating to be tied to one genre—it winds me up no end. It frustrates me that people need to define things in order to understand them ..The one I'm happy landing with is 'pop' because you don't know what it sounds like. You can do what you want with pop as long as it's good and people like it." She says that during her formative years, she listened to a mixture of her parents' music collections (which included
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
,
Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...
, and
South African music South Africa is well known for its distinct musical styles which have played a huge role towards the country's society. The music of South Africa is very diverse with a wide variety of genres such as Marabi, Kwaito, house music, Isicathamiya, ...
) and genres popular in
south London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...
such as
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
, soul, R&B, and
ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...
—she describes her music as "none of those things but all of them". A profile by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' introduced the singer as "part of a new breed of young black, or mixed race, London girls ..who resolutely refuse to make the music that's expected of 'women of colour', such as R&B, hip-hop or grime".


Discography


Albums and EPs

*''Don't Like You'' (EP, 2005) *''To Spite My Face'' (album, 2007) – shelved * ''Pop Art'' (album, 2009) – shelved Track listing #"See Me Now" – 3:52 #"Box N Locks" – 2:55 #"Fix Ya Face" – 3:25 #"Morning After" – 3:24 #"Hips Go Pop" – 3:20 #"S.P.A.C.E. Man" – 4:02 #"All Change" – 3:03 #"Paranoid Type" – 2:43 #"Man Who Got Away" – 4:17 #"Last Supper" – 3:36 #"I Was Once You" – 3:53


Singles

* 2004: "Booty La La" (with
Bugz in the Attic Bugz in the Attic is a collective of DJs and producers based in West London, who are prominent in broken beat. The collective includes Orin Walters (Afronaught), Paul Dolby (Seiji), Kaidi Tatham, Daz-I-Kue, Alex Phountzi (Neon Phusion), Cliff Sc ...
)
– UK No. 44 * 2005: "Comin' for Ya" * 2005: "Holla" (with Baby J.) * 2006: "What You Waiting For?" * 2009: "Box N Locks" – UK No. 49 * 2009: "
I Got Soul "I Got Soul" is a 2009 charity single by charity group War Child UK, recorded by Young Soul Rebels. It was released on 19 October 2009. It is a cover of The Killers' " All These Things That I've Done". A spokesman for War Child UK said, "We're ...
" (with Young Soul Rebels) – UK No. 10 * 2009: "See Me Now" (feat. Wale)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mpho 1980s births Living people Parlophone artists People educated at the BRIT School South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African singer-songwriters English women singer-songwriters 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers