Representative Songs: "American Boy," "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)," "1980"
Biography
Able to rap, sing, and write songs that have everyone from John Legend to Roots Manuva singing her praises, U.K. MC Estelle got her start in London's renowned hip-hop record store Deal Real. Her fellow employees encouraged her to take a chance and get on the mike on-stage; soon she was playing numerous London clubs and appearing with the likes of Manuva and Rodney P. Local hero Skitz asked her to appear on his 2000 album, Countryman, and soon she landed on albums by the likes of the 57th Dynasty and Blak Twang. She made her solo debut in 2003 with the Excuse Me 12" on the Paradise Isle label, but her breakthrough track came in 2004 when 1980 was released by the V2 label. A street-level mixtape series called Da Heat and further 12"s like Free and Go Gone helped build a loyal following, and Estelle gave back to the U.K. hip-hop scene by forming her own Stellarents label to sign new artists. Late in 2004 V2 released her debut album, The 18th Day, which made a big impact in the U.K. In 2007 U.S. R&B singer John Legend announced that Estelle would be the first signee to his Homeschool label, distributed by Atlantic. Her sophomore album, Shine, was released in April 2008. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
Estelle Fanta Swaray, (born 18 January 1980[1]) commonly known as Estelle, and formerly as Est'elle, is a Grammy Award-winning BritishR&Bsinger-songwriter, rapper, and producer. She also has received the MOBO for 'Best Newcomer'[2] and received three consecutive 'Best Female Artist' trophies from the UK Hip-Hop Awards.
In 2004 she broke into the charts with "1980" and "Free" and won a Mobo Award for Best Newcomer. "Free" was written by Estelle and produced by Jimmy Hogarth. Her first album,The 18th Day charted at number 35 in the UK Albums Chart.[3]
2008 - present: Shine
"American Boy" and International Breakthrough
In 2008, Estelle broke into international success with her collaboration with rapper Kanye West, titled "American Boy". This song reached the top 10 in many countries worldwide, including the United States and Canada, as well as achieving number-one status on the UK Singles Chart[4][3] and in Belgium[5]and Israel. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Song Collaboration, as well as being nominated for Song of the Year and many other awards worldwide. "American Boy" was #7 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.[6]Shine was released following the single on John Legend's HomeSchool label, reaching the albums chart in most countries worldwide, including number 6 in the UK.[3]Shine sold enough copies to be certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry, and was shortlisted for the prestigious 2008 Mercury Music Prize.
