Mumzy Stranger

Mumzy Stranger
Background information
Native name	মুহাম্মদ মুমিথ আহমেদ
Birth name	Muhammad Mumith Ahmed
Born	(1984-01-18) 18 January 1984 Plaistow, Newham, London, England
Origin	Newham, London
Genres	hip hop grime R&B dancehall
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter rapper music producer musician dancer
Instruments	Piano, guitar
Years active	2005–present
Labels	2Point9 Timeless London Stranger Productions
Associated acts	Rishi Rich Preeya Kalidas Abbas Hasan Yasmin Wiley Karen David Sonu Kakkar Junior Giscombe
Website	www.mumzystranger.com

Muhammad Mumith Ahmed (Bengali: মুহাম্মদ মুমিথ আহমেদ; born 18 January 1984), better known by his stage name Mumzy Stranger, is an English MC, singer-songwriter and record producer of Bangladeshi descent, known for his distinctive soulful-bashment style. He made his mainstream recording debut in the summer of 2009 with his debut single "One More Dance", which topped the UK Asian Charts, as did the follow-up singles, "Showgirl" and "Fly With Me". He is the first artist of Bangladeshi descent to have entered the mainstream music industry and still remains to this day one of the latest prospects of British-Asian R&B artists in Britain.^[1]

Early life

Ahmed was born and raised in Plaistow, Newham in East London to Bengali Muslim parents. He is of Bangladeshi origin and was raised in a traditional Islamic home.^[2]

In 2000, Ahmed started out in the UK garage scene at the age of 16, and was involved in pirate radio until 2003 when he left as he felt like a stranger (from which he derived his stage name). So far since his rise to local fame, his main fan base today is still derived from the East side of London and has yet to make a name for himself in other parts of London and the country, though he has had semi international success in his career.^[3]

2005–08: Career beginning

Ahmed was one of three finalists in BBC Asian Network's Unsung competition in 2005 with his song "Jump Up",^[4][5] after a friend of his sent in Stranger's demo tape,^[6] which caught the attention of Rishi Rich, a Bhangra-fusion producer who was also one of the judges for the competition.^[7]

Two years later, as a graduate from the University of Westminster, achieving a BA (Hons) in Business Information Technology,^[1] Ahmed finally went into the studio with Rishi Rich. With the help of Rishi Rich, he released his promo single, "Let's Party" in 2007, which Rich produced along with the next single, "Stranger". He performed in the UK at the Royal Festival Hall in South Bank, London and at the 2008 Baishakhi Mela, a concert of Bangladeshi musicians. He also performed at the award show for the UK Asian Music Awards in 2008.

2009: Debut single and collaborations

Ahmed's debut single "One More Dance" was produced by Rishi Rich and was released in July 2009.^[8] The single was set to be titled "One More Chance" but was later changed to "One More Dance", according to Rishi Rich.^[9] It failed to reach the mainstream charts but topped the UK Asian Charts on its debut.^[10][11] His second single, "Showgirl", was released in August 2009.^[6][12] Mumzy is heard on two tracks on The Streets of Bollywood 3, a remix album by Rishi Rich, Hunterz and Kami K, mainly focusing on bringing Indian and urban music together.

Ahmed collaborated with several UK and international desi artists, such as H-Dhami, Preeya Kalidas, Abbas Hasan and Malkit Singh.^[13]

On 18 November 2010, Ahmed supported Sean Kingston at The O2 Arena.^[14]

2010: Debut mixtape and album released

Ahmed released his debut mixtape, No Stranger to This, which was put together in the course of seven days and officially released on 11 December, a day before his debut album, Journey Begins. Stranger and Stereo Nation are heard on the soundtrack of It's a Wonderful Afterlife. The track is a remix of a hit song by Stereo Nation, "Larl Larl Buleeya (Remix)". The track is Stranger's debut on a British film soundtrack. He is also heard on the soundtrack of Toonpur Ka Super Hero, making his debut on a Bollywood film soundtrack.

In December 2010, Stranger's debut album was Journey Begins released on in the UK.^[15] Stranger performed songs from the album with a live orchestra to 600 fans and media at a one-off concert on 18 December at Stratford Circus in Stratford, London.^[16] The album's lead single is "Fly With Me", produced by himself at his home studio. The single debuted at number 15 on the UK Asian Download Chart and stayed in the top 40 for more than 17 weeks but dropped off the chart at week 18. There are several remixes of "Fly With Me", a Grime Mix featuring Flo Dan, Gods Gift, KID & Roly; a Rishi Rich Kulcha Mix and a Bangla Mix featuring SH8S. Stranger's fourth and final single from the album is "Spaceman" featuring Wiley.

2011–12: Award nominations and singles

At the UK Asian Music Awards's Nominations Party held at the West Midlands' super-club Gatecrasher, in Birmingham on 1 February, Ahmed was nominated for 4 awards, Best Album (for Journey Begins), Best Male Act, Best Urban Act and Best Video (for "Fly With Me"), the most for any solo act at the UK Asian Music Awards 2011.^[17] He ended up winning Best Urban Act.^[18]

After the release of his debut album, he released his new promotional single titled "Mama Used to Say", a collaboration with Grammy-Award winning British R&B singer, Junior, which was released on 10 March.^[19] Stranger performed the single at the UK AMA with Junior.^[20]

On 8 April 2011, Ahmed's single "Heartbreaker" was released as a free download.^[21][22]

Ahmed collaborated with Junai Kaden^[23] on the track "Aaja Mere Naal". The track is Junai Kaden's debut single and produced by Mumzy himself. The single was released on 14 April 2011.^[24] The track entered the UK Asian Download Chart at no. 7, making it his very first top 10 single.

2013–present: Brand new projects

Mumzy is the featured artist on Nafees' song titled "Sazaa", which went to number 1 on The Official Asian Download Chart in its first week of release, making it Mumzy's first number one single to date. He has also released his new record, "Love Comfort" featuring himself and a new female artist he signed, Shayma. He has also been to India with Tasha Tah to feature in a song called "Kurbaan"; this track was made before but the Bollywood Industry extended it for 6 minutes and the video has been shown on B4U Music.^[25]

Charity work

Ahmed is an ambassador for Newham Council's anti-violence campaign to prevent gun and knife crime.^[26] On 29 August 2010, Stranger took part in the Sky Ride Leicester, a free, family-orientated and fun traffic-free mass participation cycling event in Leicester, England.^[27]

Awards and nominations

Discography

Albums

Mixtapes

• MixTape (DesiDrop.com exclusive, collection of Mumzy's promo songs) (2008)^[28]
• No Stranger to This (Hosted by DJ Limelight) (2010)
• Now Or Never (Mini Mixtape) (Co-produced with JUSZONIN) (February 2015)

Guest appearances

• Sham D – "I Know" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Malkit Singh – "Nach Billo" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Malkit Singh – "Saari Raat Nachava" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Sophie – "Manjawe" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• H-Dhami – "Tere Naal" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Jerusha – "Girls Girls Boys Boys" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Preeya Kalidas – "Shimmy" (featuring Mumzy Stranger
• Preeya Kalidas – "Dance Dance" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Abbas Hasan – "Sona" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Veronica – "Turn" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Veronica – "Permission" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Tasha Tah – "Rewind" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Goldkartz – "Ha Karde" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Stereo Nation – "Lal Lal Buleeya" (Remix) (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Ramzi – "Fall in Love" (Rishi Rich Remix) (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Da Poe – "Luvin' a Thug" (produced by Mumzy Stranger, featuring Mumzy Stranger & Tahseen Haye)
• Junal Kaden – "Aaja Mere Naal" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Junai Kaden – "Ghetto Refix" (featuring Mumzy Stranger, Tashah Tah, Char Avell & Ramee)
• Salique – "Let Me In" (featuring Mumzy Stranger)
• Nafees – "Sazaa" (feat. Mumzy Stranger)
• Tasha Tah – "Kurbaan" (feat. Mumzy Stranger)
• Raxstar – "Got Me Singing" (feat. Mumzy Stranger)

Videography

Music videos

• "One More Dance" (directed by Phil Hawkins/Box Bot)
• "Showgirl"
• "City Boy"/"It Can Only Be Love"
• "Fly With Me" (directed by Orson Nava)
• "Nach Billo" (with Malkit Singh)
• "Manjawe" (with Sophie)
• "Shimmy" (with Preeya Kalidas)
• "Sona" (with Abbas Hasan)
• "Ha Karde" (with Goldkartz) (Distributed by X1Film)
• "Heartbreaker" (distributed by Desi-Box.com)
• "Aaja Mere Naal" (with Junai Kaden)
• "Ghetto Refix" (with Junai Kaden, Char Avell, Tasha Tah, Ramee)
• "Runaway"
• "Sazaa" (with Nafees)
• "Love Comfort" (directed by Mumzy Stranger & Humza Arshad)
• "Get to Know" (directed by Humza Arshad)
• "Got Me Singing" (with Raxstar) (directed by Hansinth Pathirana)
• "Ash Kardi" (Timeless London Media)

See also

• British Bangladeshi
• List of British Bangladeshis

References

External links

• Official website
• Mumzy Stranger on Twitter
• Stranger Family website
• Myspace