Blak Twang (born Tony Olabode in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

), who also uses the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s Taipanic and Tony Rotton, 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 ...

who grew up in

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

, South-East

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 ...

. Blak Twang is world-renowned for his live performances, and is also respected for the effectiveness with which he includes

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 ...

slang and lexicon, including references to specific South London locales, in his music without being too obvious about it. This has made him a favourite of English hip-hop fans, who have dubbed him “the original Hip-Hop Geezer".

Career

Twang's debut single was 1995's "What Goin' On". His debut album, ''Dettwork SouthEast'' (a pun on the name of the rail company

Network SouthEast Network SouthEast (NSE) was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE mainly operated commuter rail trains within Greater London and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the netwo ...

) was sent out to the media for the same of self-promotion but never released. It included the song "Real Estate" and the title track, "Dettwork SouthEast". His second album, ''19 Long Time'', also suffered from record label obstruction. The album included "Red Letters" and the

Roots Manuva Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva (born 9 September 1972), is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial succes ...

collaboration "Shhhoosh". However, his 2002 album '' Kik Off'' was promoted properly by his label, and spawned several singles, including the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

-themed "Kik Off", his

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

"So Rotton", and "Trixsta" (featuring Estelle), all of which achieved radio play and a degree of commercial success. In 2005 he released the album ''The Rotton Club'', backed by the single "GCSE (Ghetto Children Sex Education)" featuring Twang's protégé and Rottonus Records signee K9. Twang released another single from the album in late 2005. This was called "Travellin", and the album version featured

Barrington Levy Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. Career Levy was born in Clarendon, Jamaica. He formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Blac ...

, but a video was made for the First Man Remix, which featured the female singer Tali. On 20 October 2013 he released a single, "Badda Dan Dat", which was remixed by

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

artists Run Tingz Cru, Serial Killaz and Terrahawk. It was released through Ramajam Recordings. In September 2014, ''Dettwerk SouthEast'' finally received a full release on

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

. Blak Twang has longstanding and close links to the rapper Versetti and to several other rappers. He was featured alongside rapper Ty on the UK remix of Talib Kweli & Hi Tek's "Down for the Count" in 2001. Blak Twang has been nominated for several awards, including a

MOBO 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 Af ...

, a Kora, and a "Best International Hip-Hop Act" nomination from ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

''. In 2019 Blak Twang joined Ty and

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 ...

to form Kingdem, called a "supergroup of British rap elders" by the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''.

Discography

Albums

* 1996 ''Dettwork SouthEast'' eissued 2014* 1998 ''19 Longtime'' (Recognition) * 2002 '' Kik Off'' (Bad Magic) * 2005 ''The Rotton Club'' (Wall of Sound) * 2008 ''Speaking from Xperience'' (Abstract)

EPs

* 2013 ''Rebel Emcee'' (featuring

Congo Natty Michael Alec Anthony West (born 27 August 1964 in Islington, London, England), better known as Rebel MC and Congo Natty, is a British jungle producer and toaster. He has also gone by aliases including Conquering Lion, Blackstar, Tribe of Issac ...

) * 2013 ''Badda Dan Dat'' * 2015 ''The Pantheon EP'' (feat. Blackmale Beats)

References

English male rappers Rappers from Manchester Rappers from London People from Deptford People from Lewisham Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{hiphop-bio-stub