Sway

Moving to London from Ghana when he was just a baby, Sway honed his skills by re-writing the lyrics of his favourite hip hop stars and making beats for local artists in his school's music department. Entering every open mic night and freestyle rap battle that he could, he joined the collective Phynix Crew before his solo mixtapes started to cause a stir on the underground UK hip hop scene in 2003. Released on his own independent label DCypha, debut album This Is My Demo (2006) was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and was seen as a landmark in UK urban music because of the way it criticised the glamorisation of gang culture and street violence. Becoming the first British artist to sign with Akon's label Konvict Muzik, Sway collaborated with Chamillionaire, Kaiser Chiefs and Madness on tracks, before second album The Signature LP (2008) confirmed his reputation as one of UK hip hop's most talented stars.