Tinchy Stryder
A contemporary of artists
like Wiley and Dizzee Rascal, Tinchy Stryder has been making waves on the
British pop-rap scene since his debut album, ‘Star in the Hood’, was released
in 2007. In the three years since then, he has released a second album, worked
with Craig David, N-Dubz, Amelle Berrabah of the Sugarbabes, and a host of
other UK artists. He also took part in a project for the War Child charity,
releasing a cover of the Killers’ song ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’, which
was renamed ‘I Got Soul’. The song was recorded by a collective called Young
Souls Rebels. The impressive line-up included Stryder alongside the likes of Chipmunk,
Kid British, N-Dubz and Pixie Lott.
Born Kwasi Danquah in Bow, East London, he began his career on pirate radio stations at the age of 14. His stage name is a combination of the nickname ‘Tinchy’ – which was given to him due to his small size – and the video game Strider, which he was fond of as a child. After appearances on Sky’s Channel U and the radio show 1Xtanra, and having worked with grime outfit Roll Deep, Stryder released his first solo album in August 2007. It was a big success for the relatively niche genre that Stryder fits into, and featured the singles ‘Breakaway’ and ‘Something about your Smile’.
After featuring on the Craig David single ‘Where’s Your Love’ in November 2008, Stryder then released a sequence of four singles from his second album ‘Catch 22’, before the album itself was finally released in August 2009. The third of these, ‘Number 1’, gave Stryder his first UK number one single when it was released in April 2009, a feat he then repeated four months later with ‘Never Leave You’. The album itself entered at number 2 on the UK albums chart, selling over 100,000 copies and achieving ‘Gold’ status in the process. However, the album received only mixed reviews from the national press. Whilst The Guardian and The Mirror were positive in their appraisal of his work, The Independent was far less favourable, saying that: ‘Tinchy’s time seems mostly taken up with oiling his way into girls’ affections, trying to extricate himself from their clinging attentions, or apologising for mistreating them.’
Away from his musical career, Stryder pursued a career in professional football for some time, playing in the Wimbledon youth team. He also has a BA degree in moving image and animation from the University of East London, perhaps with a view to working on his own videos in future. Whatever path Stryder decides to follow, the future looks bright for the pint sized dynamo.
