Skinnyman

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Skinnyman
Background information
Origin	Leeds / North London (Finsbury Park)
Genre(s)	Rap / Hip-hop / Grime
Years active	Unknown
Label(s)	Low Life Records
Associated acts	Chester P , Mud Family
Website	No Offical Website

Skinnyman (born Alex Holland ) is a rapper born in Leeds, who moved to Finsbury Park, London at a young age. He formed the seminal Mud Family alongside Mongo and Chester P (now of Taskforce) with whom he released a number of EPs. These included such underground hits as Itchy Town and Lash Suttin, a reworking of Redman's Smash Something. After a period of incarceration for dealing marijuana and the collapse of a record deal with Mo' Fo' Me Records/Sofire Records UK, which include other artists such as Monkane . Skinnyman released his much delayed solo album, Council Estate of Mind in 2004.

A natural talent for running his mouth off (later to be known as rapping), SkinnyMan soon built up a reputation for being a talented lyricist, but it was his reputation for being in trouble with the police that grew even bigger. Let it be said that Skinny believes in the good of marijuana and as an active promoter of its use he doesn't see it as a harm to himself, no greater than alcohol or cigarettes at least, and therewith lies one of several differences of opinion with the law.

As Skinny progressed through open mic battles as a youth he consistently won titles around London, after becoming a founding member of The Bury Crew, Skinnyman left the fold to start up the now infamous Mud Family with Mongo and Chester P. Over the years they built up a reputation for being one of the best Hip Hop crews in England whether on vinyl, on stage freestyling or battling other MCs.

The album Council Estate of Mind was well received by fans and critics, the highest new entry in the UK's charts on the week of its release, to some surprise. Heavily autobiographical and socially analytical, the album makes much use of samples from Made in Britain, a British film from the early 1980s (and Tim Roth's acting debut). Since the album's release, Skinnyman has been one of the few UK hip-hop artists from the very insular scene to branch out and work with grime artists such as Wiley and Shystie.

He has received considerable attention from United Kingdom He was featured in Tower Block Dreams, a documentary by the BBC premiering in January 2004 lookin into how on many a council estate there is a vibrant underground music scene. He also played a small part in the 2005 interactive TV series Dubplate Drama.

His latest release Change Your Heart Feat. Nemesis & Arrogance was released by Real Records in August 2006.

His song No Big Thing was sampled in the song "U Don't Know" by Jaz-Z and MOP