Kano (rapper)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kano | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Kano |
| Born | 21 May 1985
|
| Origin | East Ham, London, England, UK |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop Grime R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Musician Songwriter Record producer |
| Years active | 2001 - present |
| Label(s) | 679 Records |
| Associated acts | Ghetto Craig David Vybz Kartel Damon Albarn Kate Nash Demon Fraser T. Smith Mikey J. Davinche |
| Website | http://www.ka-no.com/ |
Kane Brett Robinson (born 21 May 1985 in East Ham, Newham, London), better known as Kano, is a British rapper. His grandparents came to the United Kingdom as immigrants from Jamaica. He was a key member in East London’s N.A.S.T.Y. Crew (Natural Artistic Sounds Touching You), but due to a major arguement within the Crew has since left N.A.S.T.Y. As of now Kano is no longer signed to 679 Recordings having recently parted ways with the label.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
In his early teens Kano attended Langdon Comprehensive School in East Ham, Newham, where his mother still works as a netball teacher for Year 8. Kano was a promising footballer, representing Chelsea F.C., Junior Hammers and Norwich City by the age of thirteen,[1] but in the end he abandoned his sporting ambitions in favour of a musical career. His cousins Jonathan Fortune and Clayton Fortune play for Charlton Athletic and Leyton Orient respectively.[2] His first track was "Boys love Girls". Kano first became known on the UK grime scene for his work with his original group, N.A.S.T.Y Crew, which included such members as Ghetto. From this springboard he was signed as a solo artist and began work on his debut solo album.
[edit] History
Kano started to rap on the underground scene on Flava F.M as a youth after a couple of years he was scopped up by N.A.S.T.Y. Crew (Natural Artistic Sounds Touching You) are an East London-based Grime crew once considered as pioneers of the grime scene and once upon a time was one of the most popular acts within the underground scene, but are now considered extremely weak compared to the talented individuals they once boasted N.A.S.T.Y Crew was founded by Marcus Nasty with the original and most popular line up consisting of Kano, Jammer, D Double E, Ghetto, Stormin, Mak 10, Sharky Major & Hyper. N.A.S.T.Y Crew had the most popular show on pirate radio station Deja Vu on Monday nights from 8pm to 10pm, the sets featuring established and up and coming special guests such as Dizzee Rascal, Durrty Goodz and Wiley etc Kano used the crews underground popularity as a springboard and was destined for bigger things and has left N.A.S.T.Y. way way way, behind in his dust.His first track was "Boys Luv Girls", which was produced in 2002, was later taken to a studio and remastered by Dizzee Rascal. Kano first became known in the UK grime scene for his work with his original group, Nasty Crew. From this springboard he was signed as a solo artist and began work on his debut solo album. In 2004, Kano released his debut solo single, "P's & Q's", on a 12" vinyl only release, which was a massive underground hit, marking Kano out as a rising star. He went up against Wiley on Lord of the Mics 1 in one of the most recognised grime clashes, despite only being 17 at the time and after being persuaded by Jammer.
He has been criticised for not being loyal to the genre that made him, instead deviating from the sound and collaborating with indie collectives and singers such as Kate Nash. The criticism is something that he strongly disagrees with, claiming that he is an 'MC', and should be able to spit over anything.
In March 2008, Kano parted ways with record label '679' and is currently unsigned. Kano has now stated that he wishes to go back to his "grimier roots" and resume making the music that made him well known. Such a claim seems apparent in the title of his next album project, which will be called '140 Grime Street'. In early May 2008, he released a mixtape entitled 'Mc. No 1'.
[edit] Controversy
The crew endured controversy due to the in-house fighting that caused the departure of Jammer, D Double E, Footsie & Monkey. Marcus Nasty assaulted Jammer at Eskimo Dance, after it was claimed Jammer wasn't paying Nasty Crew members for songs produced by Jammer. The incident has been mentioned on Industry Exposure Vol. 1 & Saw It Comin' by Marcus Nasty and Jammer respectively. Marcus Nasty also slapped D Double E on stage over raves booked by D Double E under the Nasty Crew name, which in turn caused D Double E to leave the crew and form The Newham Generals with DJ Tubby Monkey and Footsie. The departure of Kano, Ghetto and Demon was rumoured to be provoked by violence from Marcus Nasty who was seen chasing Ghetto and Demon out of East Ham. Marcus Nasty was also alleged to have also tried to extort advance money from Kano (after Kano left Nasty's label and signed to 679 Recordings and switched management) and Nasty was allegedly behind the criminal damage done to Kano's mothers house.
[edit] Former Members
[edit] Home Sweet Home
In 2004, Kano was approached by Hugo Boss to model for their Spring/Summer collection,[3] but declined in order to begin recording and touring commitments. Shortly afterwards Kano released his debut solo single, "P's & Q's", on a 12" vinyl only release, which was a massive underground hit, marking Kano out as a rising star.
In 2005 Kano released his second single, "Typical Me", his first full single release. "Typical Me" became a considerable hit, reaching #22 in the UK Singles Charts. It remains Kano's highest charting single to date. The third single, "Remember Me", fared less well in the charts, only reaching #71. Two weeks later, on June 27, 2005, Kano's highly anticipated debut album Home Sweet Home was released. The week his album was released, it was the highest new entry, debuting inside the UK top 40 at #36. In September 2005, the fourth single "Nite Nite" was released, featuring Leo the Lion and The Streets. "Nite Nite" hit #25 in the UK charts, spending six weeks altogether on the top 75. Shortly after the release of "Nite Nite", a promotional video for "Reload It", which featured live performance clips and backstage footage, was released to UK video station, Channel U to promote the album further. In December 2005, Kano released a remixed version of album track "Nobody Don't Dance No More" featuring new artist Katie Pearl, as a download-only single. The track was also featured as a b-side on CD: 2 of "Nite Nite". On March 13 2006 Kano released the fifth and final single from the album, a double A-side of "Brown Eyes" and "Signs In Life". The single was released on a vinyl format only, and included a free sticker, which made it ineligible for chart inclusion.
Home Sweet Home was a great critical success, getting Gold status in the UK. The album was well reviewed across the British press, most notably in The Independent and The Observer, two of the UK's major newspapers. Many artists in the UK and in America have expressed positive views of the album, including Busta Rhymes, Nas, RZA, Jay-Z, Andre 3000 and Chuck D of Public Enemy.
[edit] After Home Sweet Home
Towards the end of 2005, Kano released a mixtape, Beats & Bars, which was only made available at his concerts. On March 23, 2006 Kano performed at Anson Rooms in Bristol for MTV2's Spanking New Music along with JME, N-Dubz and Unklejam. He performed various tracks such as "London Town", "P's & Q's", "Brown Eyes", "Me & My Mic" and various tracks from the new mixtape. Kano confirmed on the show that his next album was to be called "London Town". On April 14, Kano released another mixtape, named Kano's Mixtape, consisting of 17 tracks.
[edit] Run the Road
Kano’s music was also featured on Run the Road, a popular released compilation containing sixteen tracks of the best of 2004’s grime music. The compilation included contributions from other popular grime artists as well, including Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, and Lady Sovereign. Kano performed a verse on the track, “Destruction VIP,” and was featured on three other tracks, including “P’s and Q’s.”[4] Kano has been hailed as one of the artists particularly standing out on Run the Road due to his seemingly effortless rapping skills, and he displays confidence as a music artist that adds to his charm.[5]
[edit] London Town
London Town was released on September 10, 2007, preceded by the single, "This Is The Girl", featuring Craig David, on August 27. Along with Craig David the album features collaborations with Gorillaz member Damon Albarn (formerly of Blur), Kate Nash, and Vybz Kartel. Ater the release of the album, Kano toured the UK on numerous dates as well as performing the whole album at the Jazz Cafe in October 2007 alongside a live band[6]. Kano also sold out London Astoria in the same month to put on an entertaining show also promoting Tinchy Stryder on his tour.[7]
[edit] Awards and achievements
In 2005, Kano was nominated for 4 MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards, winning the award for Best Newcomer. He also won an award at the first Channel U "Best of British" Awards. On New Years Eve 2005, Kano was announced as one of "London's Heroes of 2005" by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone. He was also nominated for a BRIT Award for Best Urban Act in January 2006. Kano made a small cameo appearance in the new British film, Rolling With The Nines,[8] and is a playable character in the game Def Jam: Icon, the only British person to have yet been featured. Kano has received praise from many music critics who tend to cite his smooth techniques and confidence as strengths. Additionally, although he does have an accent, his rhymes seem to be easier for Americans to understand than some other rappers of the same genre, which has earned him some fame in the States.[9]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Home Sweet Home (June 27, 2005) 679 Recordings
- London Town (September 10, 2007) 679 Recordings
- 140 Grime Street (2008) Unknown Label
[edit] Mixtapes
- Beats & Bars (11th November, 2005)
- Kano Mixtape (14th April 2007)
- Run the Road (featured) (24th January, 2005)
- Mc No.1 (7th April, 2008)
[edit] Singles
[edit] Physical Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | |||
| 2004 | "P's & Q's" (Released on 12" Vinyl Only) |
|
Home Sweet Home |
| 2005 | "Typical Me" |
|
|
| "Remember Me" |
|
||
| "Nite Nite" (feat. Leo The Lion & The Streets) |
|
||
| 2006 | "Brown Eyes" / "Signs In Life" (Released on 12" Vinyl Only) |
|
|
| "Buss It Up" (feat. Vybz Kartel) (Released on 7" Vinyl Only) |
|
||
| 2007 | "This is the Girl" (feat. Craig David) |
|
London Town |
| "Feel Free" (feat. Damon Albarn) |
|
- "Brown Eyes" / "Signs In Life" was released on 12" vinyl only. The single is classified as an NCQ - "Non Chart Qualifier" as it included a free sticker. Due to UK chart rules, free stickers are not allowed to be included in UK single releases. This is why the single could not enter the charts on its release in March 2006.
[edit] Promo Only Singles
| Year | Title | Additional Information | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Reload It" | Video only single. | Home Sweet Home |
| 2005 | "Nobody Don't Dance No More [Remix]" (Featuring Katie Pearl) |
Download only single, B-Side to "Nite Nite". Produced by Fraser T Smith / Kano |
Home Sweet Home |
[edit] Guest appearances
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | |||
| 2005 | "Routine Check" (The Mitchell Brothers Featuring Kano & The Streets) |
#42 | A Breath Of Fresh Attire |
[edit] References
- ^ Rock & Pop: A one-man grime wave | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com
- ^ Sky Sports | Blogs | Pro Life | League One Pro Life | Everything going well
- ^ Kano - Free download only track available
- ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha. "True Grime." (New Yorker), 21 March 2005.
- ^ Breihan, Tom. “Grime Scene Investigation: Run the Road Brings the U.K.’s Hip-Hop Hybrid Across the Pond.” 27 April 2005. http://www.citypaper.com/music/story.asp?id=9895
- ^ BBC - Electric Proms 2007 - Kano presents London Town
- ^ First Night: Kano, The Astoria, London - Reviews, Music - Independent.co.uk
- ^ GIGWISE, Music News, Reviews, Gigs, Tickets, Bands, Forum, Classifieds
- ^ The Village Voice: Status Ain't Hood
