Tinchy Stryder

Wikipedia:

Kwasi Danquah III ( /ˈeɪ/  /æŋˈɑː/ KWAY-see dang-KWAH) (born September 14, 1986), better known by his pseudonyms Tinchy Stryder and Star in the Hood, is a Ghanaian musician, music executive, A&R executive, and businessman. He is the co-founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Takeover Roc Nation.

Stryder rose to prominence with the song "Take Me Back" which peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart in January 2009. He then released the song "Number 1", (a collaboration with N-Dubz) which entered the UK chart at number 1 on 26 April 2009. Stryder later released "Never Leave You" with Amelle Berrabah from girl-group Sugababes which became Stryder's second number 1 on 9 August 2009.

Stryder has opened other ventures since the beginning of his success. He founded and is the creator of the clothing line Star in the Hood (company). He is also the President and chief executive of Takeover/Cloud 9 (music publishing company through EMI Music Publishing), and he currently serves as the Chairman and A&R executive of Takeover Entertainment Ltd.

Biography

Early life & Education

Stryder relocated to the United Kingdom from Ghana in 1995, and lived in Bow, East London and attended St Bonaventure's Catholic Comprehensive School in Forest Gate, Newham; he gained a B.A. (Hons) in Digital arts, Moving image and Animation at the University of East London.

1997–2006: Career beginnings, Ruff Sqwad and Roll Deep

Stryder's recordings date back to 1997, he started at the age of 13 in 2000 on UK pirate radio in East London along with Dizzee Rascal and Wiley. Stryder went on to join the grime collective Ruff Sqwad in 2001 consisting of 5-grime artists, before the group expanded to six in 2004, then finally settling at 7, in 2006. His pseudonym Tinchy Stryder derives from the arcade game Strider which he played when he was young and from the nickname "Tinchy" given to him due to his short stature: his height at 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) in 2009 then 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) in 2012 making him in 2009 the shortest male artist ever to top the UK Top 40.

In 2002, the well-known grime collective Roll Deep of 13-grime artists was formed, and included Stryder and Dizzee Rascal as MCs (Master of Ceremonies). They were making music that was a derivative of UK Garage. For a while there was not even a name for it. The label "grime" was the one that stuck. While Stryder was a member of Roll Deep, he performed some songs including, "U Were Always" in 2002, which was released years later on Roll Deep's compilations album, Street Anthems in 2009. He also performed on Roll Deep's 2004 mixtape, Creeper Vol. 2. Back then he had a high pitched voice.

Stryder's music videos made a number of appearances on the Sky (UK & Ireland), Channel U (now Channel AKA) between 2004–2006 and he also made a number of appearances on BBC Radio 1Xtra taking part in freestyle rap, sometimes joined by his rap crew, (Ruff Sqwad), with whom he released with the studio albums Guns and Roses Volume. 1 in March 2005 and Guns and Roses Volume. 2 in October 2006.

2006-2008: Star in the Hood, Cloud 9 The EP and Tinchy Stryder Vs. Maniac

The debut album by Stryder, Star in the Hood, was released on 13 August 2007 on Takeover Entertainment Ltd. The album spawned two main singles, "Breakaway", which was released on 9 April 2007 and "Something About Your Smile", released on 6 August 2007, with British singer-songwriter, Cylena Cymone. Bonus track "Mainstream Money" was also released as an underground single in November 2007.

In 2008, Stryder released his debut extended play, Cloud 9 The EP, which was released on 31 March, also on Takeover Entertainment. This was succeeded by Stryder and grime producer Maniac collaborating on the studio album, Tinchy Stryder Vs. Maniac, which was released on 24 November 2008. Only one single was released from the album, "Rollin", which was released in October 2008. This track was also included on Stryder's 2009 second solo studio album, Catch 22, as part of the, Deluxe 2-Disc Edition.

Tinchy also collaborated with Gang Gang Dance on the track Princes which featured on the Saint Dymphna (album) released in October 2008.

2008-2010: Hit singles and Catch 22

Stryder began a partnership with producer/songwriter Fraser T. Smith whom he originally contacted through MySpace and then met while supporting Kano on tour. According to Smith in an interview with HitQuarters, "Tinchy 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 urban over into pop having worked with artists like Kano and Craig David."

His next single, "Stryderman", became his first single to chart in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 73. It was the first single taken from his second album, Catch 22. The second single, "Take Me Back", entered the official UK Singles Chart at 39 on downloads alone, one day before its official release. The following week the single moved up 36 places to peak position 3.

On 26 April 2009, Stryder's next single, a collaboration with N-Dubz entitled "Number 1," topped the UK Singles Chart giving Stryder and N-Dubz their first number one single. Stryder's fourth single from Catch 22, "Never Leave You", was released on 3 August 2009 with the album following on 17 August. "Never Leave You" went to Number 1 on the week of its release. Catch 22 debuted at Number 2 on the UK albums chart, only beaten by Calvin Harris. The fifth and final single from Catch 22 is "You're Not Alone," which was released in November 2009 and samples the Olive song of the same name.

On 20 July 2009, Stryder was part of a line-up at The O2 arena 3D ELEKTRO RAVE 2009, that included Caspa and Rusko, Frankmusik, and High Contrast.

He also took part in a charity song entitled "I Got Soul", a cover of The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done", which was to raise money for War Child charity. This song was released on 19 October 2009 and peaked at number 10 in the Official UK Charts and 19 on the Irish Singles Chart.

In February 2010, Stryder headline toured for the third time, he invited Example and JME as his supporting acts. The tour was Stryder's second sell-out tour after he toured in 2009 and helped in raising the profile of Example.

Stryder opened on the pyramid stage at the UK Glastonbury Festival, on Saturday 27 June 2010. He also performed at the O2 Arena, for the Transformation Trust's first birthday alongside The Saturdays and Stacey Solomon.

2010-2011: Third Strike

Stryder's third solo studio album, Third Strike was released on Monday 15 November 2010, but it failed to match the UK commercial success of Catch 22.

Stryder began recording Third Strike shortly after he completed his previous album, he then released a promotional single, "Gangsta?", six month's prior to the release of the studio album. This was followed by Stryder releasing the first official single from it, a year from the day he released his second studio album. He began working with Fraser T. Smith who also worked on his second studio album. Taio Cruz produced the largely, along with Fraser T. Smith. The album title was picked as Stryder thought the album would be a smash hit, so he thought he would rip off the title of Street Fighter III 3rd Strike which was also a massive success. Third Strike features several artists, including Amelle, with whom he collaborated on Catch 22 on the single "Never Leave You" where the pair gained a number one in the UK. The album features Taio Cruz who also featured on the Stryder's last album. The album also features artists affiliated with Roc Nation: Canadian singer Melanie Fiona on "Let It Rain", American singer Alexis Jordan, and American singer Bridget Kelly on "Take The World". The song "Game Over" features six different artists. Eric Turner from the Swedish rock band Street Fighting Man also features on the album.

2011-2012: Full Tank

The first single from this forthcoming solo studio album entitled Full Tank is "Spaceship" and it features Dappy from N-Dubz. Stryder performed at the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final in support of the single, making him the first rapper, contemporary artist and singer in history to perform at a UEFA Champions League final. Stryder teamed up with Scottish DJs/producers Calvin Harris and Matt Burns credited as 'BURNS', for the second single from this fourth solo studio album, "Off The Record". On Thursday, 3 November 2011, Stryder announced in an interview that his new album will be entitled; "Full Tank". On Tuesday, 3 January 2012, Stryder released the video for the third single from "Full Tank" entitled 'Bright Lights' which features British singer Pixie 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.

Other ventures and aspects

Businesses

Since 2006, Stryder's music career has been managed by Takeover Entertainment Ltd, comprising Archie Lamb IV and Jack Foster. Archie Lamb's father is Liberal Democrat MP, Norman Lamb, who has invested in Stryder's music career. Stryder became the company's Chairman and A&R executive in January 2010.

Stryder founded the clothing brand Star in the Hood (company), named after his pseudonym "Star In The Hood", in September 2006, which he also named his first solo studio album.

In December 2008, Stryder, Archie Lamb IV and Jack Foster the two-man management team behind Stryder’s success, signed a joint venture publishing deal with EMI Music Publishing to create a global publishing company, Takeover/Cloud 9, which will enable Takeover Entertainment to publish the work of Takeover Entertainment's musicians and record producers in partnership with EMI.

In June 2010, Stryder signed a business deal with Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter to ally Stryder's company, Takeover Entertainment Ltd, with Roc Nation LLC. The new leg of the company is called Takeover Roc Nation.

Endorsements

On Tuesday, 8 November, 2011, Honda's motorbike division hired Stryder for their pan-European campaign. The campaign featuring Stryder is being supported by Facebook, Inc., and a tie-up with fashion brand GAS in order to push the Vision 50, Honda's 50cc entry level scooter. The Vision 50 was launched on (8 November, 2011) at the EICMA (ilan otorcycle how) in Milan, Italy along with six other bike models.

Charitable causes

On Thursday, 4 November 2010, Stryder performed at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, along with a couple of musicians and special guests for Alicia Keys' charity, Keep a Child Alive, charity ball. All proceeds from the tickets sales for the event was donated to Alicia Keys’ charity, Keep a Child Alive (KCA).

Personal life

Stryder revealed in January 2010 that if his music career did not take off he would have become a professional footballer, by stating that: "I was quite athletic, I had to choose between football and music". Stryder was originally scheduled to be a professional footballer, being left-footed he played in the striker and second striker positions and was enrolled at the academy of Wimbledon F.C. from 2000–2003 and the youth team of Leyton Orient F.C. from 2003–2006.

Stryder is known to be a big fan of Manchester United. He has an executive box at Manchester United's football stadium, Old Trafford and considers himself to be their lucky mascot, as he told to Manchester United F.C. footballer and good friend Rio Ferdinand.

He plays golf in his free time and gives golf lessons to business partner Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and his wife Beyoncé Knowles.

Stryder also tries to return to Ghana and visiting his relatives whenever he can, as he can be "normal" there.