The Streets
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 Mike Skinner in concert
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Mike Skinner | |
| Born | 27 November, 1978 | |
| Origin | Birmingham, England | |
| Genre(s) | Electronica, Garage, Hip Hop | |
| Instrument(s) | vocals, keyboards | |
| Years active | 2000 - present | |
| Label(s) | 679 Recordings | |
| Website | http://www.the-streets.co.uk/ the-streets.co.uk | |
Mike Skinner (born 27 November 1978), more commonly known by his stage name The Streets, is a rapper from West Heath, Birmingham, England.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early years
Skinner acquired his first keyboard by the age of five after moving to Birmingham from Barnet, North London. As a teenager, he built a miniature recording studio in his bedroom. He began writing hip hop and garage music in his home in West Heath in Birmingham, with a crew of other rappers including best friend Chris Panton. He describes his background as "Barratt class: suburban estates, not poor but not much money about, really boring"[1]. Skinner started making songs at the age of fifteen.
In the late 1990s, Skinner was a student at Sutton Coldfield College, near Birmingham, and was working in fast food jobs while trying to start his own independent record label and sending off demos. The Streets started out as a group project but quickly became a one-man act as band members fell away. At the end of 2000, the Locked On label, who had had success with The Artful Dodger featuring Craig David, agreed to release "Has It Come To This" under the name The Streets. Skinner moved from Birmingham to Brixton to pursue his recording career. Skinner's "mockney" accent has often been criticised. Despite having been raised in Birmingham, an area with a distinctive regional accent, he speaks with a strong London "cockney" accent. He can be heard speaking in his normal accent at the beginning of the song "Fake Streets Hats." Because of his accent, Skinner is identified with Birmingham, a keen supporter of Birmingham City he even wore the clubs replica shirt on stage. However he was born in Barnet and moved to the Midlands when he was five; his family moved south again in 2004
[edit] Career breakthrough
"Has It Come To This" proved to be a breakthrough hit for The Streets, going top-twenty in March 2001. For his debut album, Original Pirate Material, Skinner wanted to take garage in a new direction with material reflecting the lifestyle of clubbers in Britain. The track "Let's Push Things Forward" reflects the philosophy of the album. The album was released and proved to be successful both with critics and the general public alike. In the UK, the album was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize and was favourite with the bookies to win it (it was later won by Ms. Dynamite). The Streets was nominated for best album, best urban act, best breakthrough artist and best British male artist in the 2002 Brit awards. The NME named it as one of their top five albums of 2002.
Subsequent singles included "Don't Mug Yourself", "Weak Become Heroes" and "Let's Push Things Forward" which all reached the top 40 in the UK. Many of his songs have a UK Garage feel but have in the main found popularity in the 'indie' scene. Original Pirate Material had debuted and peaked at number 12 in the UK album charts, and wouldn't reach any higher until his next album was released.
The success of Original Pirate Material in the UK led to a US release of the album through Vice/Atlantic in late 2002. It quickly became a critical favourite with Rolling Stone, Spin Magazine, The New York Times, Blender, USA Today and the LA Times all nominating it as one of the albums of the year. The album was named Entertainment Weekly's "album of the year". The album reached number two on the Billboard electronic charts and the top 20 on the independent and Heatseeker charts in the US in 2003. The cover photo was designed by German photographer Rut Blees Luxemburg.
[edit] Live Line-up
The Streets regularly plays live, and has also performed at several Festivals.
Up until recently his playing line up was: Mike Skinner, Leo "The Lion" singing backing vocals, Eddie "The Kid" playing keyboard, Johnny Drum Machine playing drums, and Morgan Nicholls playing bass and guitar.
[edit] Topping the charts
In May 2004, he released a new single, "Fit But You Know It" which became his highest debuting and highest selling single to that point, reaching number four in the UK. The single, which Skinner revealed was an ode to his lust for pop star Rachel Stevens, is notable for its simple tune which may be based upon her hit Sweet Dreams My LA Ex mixed with Blur's 'mockney' Parklife song.
"Fit But You Know It" is from his second album, A Grand Don't Come for Free which is a concept album about a short period in the protagonist's life. If the album is listened to all the way through, it tells a clear story. The events depicted include losing a thousand pounds, the start of a new relationship, going on holiday, breaking up, and eventually finding the grand again. The MC's remix of "Fit But You Know It" features formerly underground MCs such as Kano, Tinchy Stryder, Don'eo (of So Solid Crew) and Lady Sovereign.
The album debuted at number two in the UK album charts, but later reached the number one position. Soon after the album was released, his success grew even larger in July 2004, with the second single "Dry Your Eyes" debuting at the top of the chart in the UK. The success of this album and its singles led to a re-kindling of interest in the first album Original Pirate Material, which re-entered the UK album charts and beat its original chart peak of two years earlier (This may have also been due to a half price offer on the album at HMV). "Blinded By the Lights", the third single from "A Grand Don't Come for Free", hit the Top 10 in September 2004, and a fourth and final single, "Could Well Be In", was released in late 2004.
[edit] The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living
Skinner's third studio album under The Streets moniker, The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living, was released on 10 April 2006 in the United Kingdom and on 25 April in North America. In the UK it debuted at #1 on the album chart. It was a change in direction from the last two albums, the lyrical theme of "Hardest" moved away from the stories about working class Britain and now studying on the ups and downs of fame, a problem Skinner has encountered since the huge success of his last album.
The lead single, titled "When You Wasn't Famous", was released two weeks prior to the album. The song is about Skinner's troubles with trying to date a famous person, following his new found fame. It was also named 'Track of the Week' by NME in early March 2006, but when it came into the UK singles charts, it only reached the latter course of the top 10, peaking at #8. There has been much speculation over which celebrity "When You Wasn't Famous" is about - Rachel Stevens and Cheryl Cole are two names that have been ruled out, despite Skinner dedicating the song to Cole on Top Of The Pops. [2] This reluctance to reveal the subject may be more than simple politeness, as some of the descriptions of the unnamed starlet in the track are potentially damaging. At one point, Skinner discloses "my whole life I never thought I'd see a pop star smoke crack".
The second single, "Never Went to Church", is a tribute to Skinner's late father, and appears to use the chord progression of The Beatles' "Let It Be" as a backing beat.
The Streets appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on June 26 to promote the new album.
[edit] Discography
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[edit] Album sales
| Album | Year | UK Chart | FRA Chart | AUS Chart | AUT Chart | IRE Chart | DEN Chart | BEL Chart | SWE Chart | NZ Chart | Album Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Original Pirate Material" | 2002 | 10 | 97 | 43 | 300,000 UK (Platinum) | ||||||
| "A Grand Don't Come for Free" | 2004 | 1 | 38 | 11 | 24 | 9 | 900,000 UK(Triple Platinum) | ||||
| "The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living" | 2006 | 1 | 122 | 16 | 42 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 454,000(186,000 UK) |
[edit] Singles
[edit] Original Pirate Material
- "Has It Come to This?" (2001, #18 UK)
- "Let's Push Things Forward" (Featuring Kevin Mark Trail) (2002, #30 UK)
- "Weak Become Heroes" (2002, #27 UK, #74 AUS)
- "Don't Mug Yourself" (2002, #21 UK)
- "The Irony of It All"(2002, #51 UK)
[edit] A Grand Don't Come for Free
- "Fit But You Know It" (2004, #2 UK, #37 AUS)
- "Dry Your Eyes" (2004, #1 UK, #1 IRL, #24 SWE, #42 AUS)
- "Blinded by the Lights" (2004, #10 UK, #92 AUS)
- "Could Well Be In" (2004, #30 UK)
[edit] The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living
- "When You Wasn't Famous" (2006, #8 UK, #26 IRL, #67 AUS)
- "Never Went to Church" (2006, #20 UK)
- "Prangin' Out" (2006, #25 UK)
