Tinchy Stryder | |
|---|---|
 Stryder performing in 2013 | |
| Born | Kwasi Esono Danquah III (1986-09-14)14 September 1986 (age 38) |
| Other names |
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| Alma mater | University of East London |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
| Title | Chairman andCEO ofS.I.T.H (2009–present) President andCEO ofTakeover/Cloud 9 (2009–present) Chairman ofTakeover Entertainment (2010–2013) CEO andSEVP ofTakeover Roc Nation (2010–present) CEO andCreative director ofGoji Electronics (2012–present) |
| Partner | Amba Miller (engaged) |
| Children | 2 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Labels | Takeover Entertainment (2007–12) Island (2008–12) Cloud 9 (2014–present) |
Musical artist | |
| Signature | |
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Kwasi Esono Danquah III[2][3][4] (/ˈkweɪsidæŋˈkwɑː/KWAY-see dang-KWAH; born 14 September 1986),[1][5] better known by his stage nameTinchy Stryder, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor.
Stryder has released threesolostudio albums,Star in the Hood (2007),Catch 22 (2009), andThird Strike (2010). Stryder's business ventures include the clothing lineStar in the Hood, the Cloud 9 X Goji headphone and audio equipment range in collaboration withGoji Electronics.[1][6][7]
Stryder was born as Kwasi Esono Danquah III on 14 September 1986 inAccra,Ghana.[8]
Stryder has lived in the United Kingdom since 1995.[9] In Bow, London, he attendedSt Bonaventure's Catholic School in nearbyForest Gate,Newham;[1] He gained aB.A. (Hons) inDigital arts,Moving image andAnimation at theUniversity of East London.[10][11] He began making music in 1997, aged 11, and started in business almost immediately after completing hisA-levels in 2006.
Stryder's recordings date back to 1998. He appeared in 2000[12] onpirate radio along withDizzee Rascal andWiley,[13] and was part ofgrime collective andrecord production teamRuff Sqwad from 2001. His pseudonym Tinchy Stryder derives from the video gameStrider and from the nickname given to him "Tinchy":[9][14] his height at 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m).[15]
In 2002, thegrime groupRoll Deep was founded byWiley, and included Stryder andDizzee Rascal. They were making music that was a derivative ofgarage. For a while, there was not even a name for it. The name "grime" was the one that stuck.[16] While performing with Roll Deep, Stryder performed some songs including "U Were Always" in 2002, which was released years later on Roll Deep's compilation albumStreet Anthems in 2009. He also performed on Roll Deep's 2004mixtape,Creeper Vol. 2.[16]
The debut album by Stryder,Star in the Hood, was released on 13 August 2007 onTakeover. The album spawned two main singles, "Breakaway", which was released on 9 April 2007 and "Something About Your Smile", was released on 6 August 2007. Bonus track "Mainstream Money" was also released as an underground single in November 2007.[14]
In 2008, Stryder released his debutextended play,Cloud 9 The EP, which was released on 31 March, also on Takeover.[17] This was succeeded by him andgrime record producerManiac collaborating on the album,Tinchy Stryder vs. Maniac, which was released on 24 November 2008.[18] Only one single was released from the album, "Rollin", which was released in October 2008.[19] This track was also included on his 2009 second solo studio album,Catch 22, as part of the, Deluxe 2-Disc Edition, and he would collaborate with American bandGang Gang Dance on their albumSaint Dymphna that was released in October 2008.
Stryder began a partnership with English record producer and songwriterFraser T Smith.[20] According to Smith in an interview withHitQuarters, "Kwasi had no shortage of beats and cool sounding production, but I think he wanted to try and break through into the mainstream, and I had some experience crossing underground over into mainstream having worked with artists likeCraig David."[20]
The single "Stryderman", was released on 20 July 2008. It was the firstsingle taken fromCatch 22. The second single, "Take Me Back", was released on 19 January 2009.[21][22] His third single, a collaboration with the English hip-hop bandN-Dubz entitled "Number 1," peaked at number 6 on theEuropean Hot 100 Singles and number 1 in the UK & Ireland and became the first single with the title "Number 1" to peak at #1 in any country. His fourth single fromCatch 22, "Never Leave You", was released on 3 August 2009 with the album following on 17 August 2009. "Never Leave You" peaked at number 5 on theEuropean Hot 100 Singles on the week of its release. Catch 22 debuted at number 11 on theEuropean Top 100 Albums. The fifth and final single fromCatch 22 is "You're Not Alone," which was released in November 2009 and samples theOlive song of the same name.[23]
In February 2010, Stryder headline toured for the third time, he invited the English singerExample and rapperJME as his supporting acts. The tour was Stryder's second sell-out tour after he toured in 2009 and helped in raising the profile ofExample.[24] Stryder opened on the pyramid stage at the EnglandGlastonbury Festival, on Saturday, 27 June 2010. He also performed at theO2 Arena in England, for the Transformation Trust's first birthday alongsideThe Saturdays.[25][26]
Stryder's third solo studio album,Third Strike was released on Monday, 15 November 2010 and was an unsuccessfulalbum.[27] Stryder began recordingThird Strike shortly after he completed his previous album; he then released a promotional single, "Gangsta?", six months prior to the release of the studio album. This was followed by the release of the first official single, a year from the day he released his second studio album. He began working with Fraser T Smith who had also worked on his second studio album.English singerTaio Cruz produced the largely,[clarification needed] along with Fraser T Smith. The album title was picked by the title ofStreet Fighter III 3rd Strike which was also a massive success.Third Strike features several artists, including English singerAmelle, with whom he collaborated onCatch 22 on the single "Never Leave You".
The album features Taio Cruz who also featured on the Stryder's last album. The album also features artists affiliated withRoc Nation: Canadian singerMelanie Fiona on "Let It Rain", American singerAlexis Jordan, and American singerBridget Kelly on "Take The World". The song "Game Over" features six different artists.Eric Turner from theSwedish rock bandStreet Fighting Man also features on the album.
The first single from the scrapped studio album entitledFull Tank is "Spaceship" and it features English singer and songwriterDappy from N-Dubz. Stryder performed at the2011 UEFA Champions League Final in support of the single, making him the first rapper in history to perform at aUEFA Champions League final.[28][29]
He teamed up withScottish DJs and record producersCalvin Harris and Matt Burns, credited as 'BURNS', for the second single from the scrapped album, "Off the Record".[30] On 3 November 2011 Stryder announced in an interview that his fourth album would be entitled; "Full Tank".[31]
On 3 January 2012 Stryder released the video for the third single fromFull Tank entitled "Bright Lights" which features English singerPixie Lott. There is also another version of the song entitled 'Bright Lights Part II' that is featured on Pixie Lott's second studio album,Young Foolish Happy.[32] In various media outlets in July 2012, Stryder spoke of the single "Help Me" being released in September 2012. The video of the single was released on 15 August 2012, featuring singer and songwriterCamille Purcell.[33] It has been described as "unmistakably Tinchy" and "among his better work".[33]
On 25 December 2012, on his Facebook page, Stryder released a freestyle titled "Look at Me Now" along with it he said "Look out for the first single from my fourth album early next year. Can't wait to share this new music with you all!". This being said means "Spaceship", "Off the Record", "Bright Lights" and "Help Me" became non-album singles.
Four years after his last album, Stryder released a promotional single, "Misunderstood", on 14 April 2014. It was slated to feature on his forthcoming fourth album, but didn't make the final cut.
"ESG", the album's lead single, was released on 9 June 2014.[34] It features vocals fromTakura and production byShow N Prove. Along with the release of the single, Tinchy announced that the new album would be titled360°.
In October 2014, Stryder paired up with theChuckle Brothers to release a charity single "To Me, To You (Bruv)" to raise money for theAfrican-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust.[35]
Stryder participated in the fourteenth series ofI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, having been chosen by the public to complete one trial.[36] He left on day 21.
On 26 April 2015, Tinchy released a new non-album single, "Imperfection", featuring vocals fromFuse ODG.[37] Despite being playlisted by numerous UK radio stations, the song failed to enter theUK Singles Chart.
On 8 May and 16 May 2015 respectively, Tinchy released "Six Four Stuff" and "Blurt" (featuring K2 World) for free download viaSoundCloud. With the two grime singles, he announced that the new album was to be titledThe Cloud 9 LP. On 23 August 2015, Tinchy released a video for a new song, "Sekky", which features vocals from fellowRuff Sqwad member Roachee and production from Sir Spyro and Rude Kid.[38] This was the second song from the album to be premiered.
On 3 March 2016, Tinchy announced thatThe Cloud 9 LP / 360° will be released as a fourteen-trackdouble album on 8 April 2016. This announcement was accompanied by the release of "Allow Me" (featuringJme) as an "instant grat" single; those who pre-order the new album can instantly download the new single.[39]
In September 2006, Stryder created the clothing brandStar in the Hood, named after his pseudonym "Star in the Hood".[14] In June 2010, he aligned Takeover Entertainment Limited, with entertainment powerhousesRoc Nation LLC andLive Nation, and createdTakeover Roc Nation.[40] The joint venture ended in 2013 but he remains close to Roc Nation.
In December 2008, Stryder created his own global publishing company,Takeover/Cloud 9 by ajoint venture withEMI divisionEMI Music Publishing.[41]
On 8 November 2011,Honda's motorbike division hired Stryder for their pan-European campaign. The campaign featuring Stryder was supported byFacebook, Inc., and a tie-up with fashion brandGAS in order to push the Vision 50, Honda's 50cc entry level scooter. The Vision 50 was launched on 8 November 2011 at theEICMA (Milan Motorcycle Show) inMilan,Italy along with six other bike models.[42]
In June 2012, Danquah released a line ofconsumer electronics. TheGoji Electronics line consists of the brand of headphones,Goji Tinchy Stryder, theGoji On Cloud 9Audio equipment, acircumaural headphone, an on-ear headphone, an in-ear headphone, a series of HD over-ear headphones, asupra-aural headphone, travelspeakers, alsoconsumer electronics such astablet computer,netbook andsmartphone accessories.[43][44] The headphones are distributed byDSG International plc.[45][46] DSG International and Danquah announced the deal in June 2012. TheGoji Electronicsconsumer electronics andaudio equipment, known asGoji Tinchy Stryder andGoji On Cloud 9, were available for sale mid-July 2012 and are distributed by DSG International plc subsidiaries across Europe andPixmania globally.[45]
Stryder revealed in January 2010 that he wanted to become afootballer as a youth.[47][48][49] Stryder was a left-footed player who could play as astriker orsecond striker, and was enrolled at the academy ofWimbledon F.C. from 2000 to 2003 and the youth team ofLeyton Orient F.C. from 2003 to 2006.[50] Stryder has a daughter, Arabella, with fiancée Amba Miller.[51] In May 2021, they had a son.[52]
On Thursday 4 November 2010 Stryder attended theO2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in England, forAlicia Keys' charityKeep a Child Alive charityball andauction, along with other special guests. All proceeds from the auctions for the event were donated toKeep a Child Alive (KCA).[53] Stryder donates income fromGoji Electronics to charity.[54]
Studio albums
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Chapman, Matthew (8 November 2011)."Honda bikes hires Tinchy Stryder".Marketing.Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved13 November 2011.
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