- Giggs (rapper)
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Giggs Birth name Nathaniel Thompson[1] Also known as Hollowman Born November 26, 1983 [1] Origin Peckham, Greater London, England Genres British hip hop, Hip hop Occupations Rapper Instruments Vocals, Bass Years active 2004–present Labels XL Recordings, Takeover Entertainment, SN1 Records Associated acts Wiley, The Streets, Skepta, B.o.B, TKO, Shola Ama,
Joell Ortiz, DaVinChe,
Tinchy Stryder, Lloyd Banks,
Waka Flocka Flame, Example,
Devlin, DJ Whoo Kid,
KreayshawnWebsite sn1giggs.com Nathaniel Thompson[1] (born November 26, 1983), better known by his stage name Giggs or his alter ego Hollowman, is an recording artist. He is the leader of Spare No 1 (SN1), alongside his brothers Gunna Dee, Joe Grind, Spender and Young Giggs (YG). Other artists within this group include Kyze (currently serving six years in prison for shooting a man in the shoulder[1] and Tiny Boost.[1] The group's main producers are Boom Productions (aka BoomBlast), Universe, Pablo Productions, Paws Productions, Bayoz Musik and Simple. Giggs signed a record deal in 2010 with XL Recordings.[1]
Contents
Early life
Nathaniel Thompson, of Jamaican descent, and was raised by his Jamaican single mother, he is the eldest of his siblings, and grew up on the streets of Peckham.[1] He dropped out of school at the age of 16. Originally, he was nicknamed 'Giggler' because of his tendency to laugh even in the most inappropriate situations; later, this was cut down to 'Giggs'.[1]
In 2003 he was sentenced to two years in prison due to weapon charges.[2][3]
Music career
Giggs started pursuing rapping as a career, instead of as a hobby. Giggs and his SN1 crew started off releasing numerous mixtapes, including Hollowman Meets Blade, Welcome to Boomzville, Best of Giggs 1 and 2 and 3 and the hugely successful Ard Bodied, which featured Dubz, "Talking the Hardest". His mixtapes have supposedly sold more than 10,000 units.[1] This success helped his popularity expand outside London. However when Giggs first signed to XL Recordings, the record label was allegedly warned by members of Operation Trident to not back the London rapper due to his past charges.[2][3]
Walk in da Park (2007–2008) Giggs released the street anthem "Talking the Hardest" in 2007, which helped increase his popularity. The track features Giggs rapping over the beat from American hip-hop artist Stat Quo's track "Here We Go", originally produced by Dr. Dre. He then released his debut independent album Walk in da Park on 4 August 2008., for the tracks "Uummm!!" and "You Raised Me/Open Up". Walk In Da Park received mainly positive reviews, and was very successful, selling out in most HMVs in the first two days of release.[4]
In 2011, Giggs appeared in Channel 4 TV drama Top Boy.
Awards and nominations
Year Region Ceremony Category Nominated work Result 2008 United States BET Awards Best Hip-hop Act: UK — Won 2010 United Kingdom MOBO Awards Best Hip-hop Act UK — Nominated 2011 Best Hip-hop/Grime Act UK — Nominated Discography
Studio albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions UK UK
R&B
[5]2008 Walk in da Park - Released: August 4, 2008
- Label: SN1 Records
- Formats: CD, Digital Download
143 34 2010 Let Em Ave It - Released: June 21, 2010
- Label: XL Recordings, Takeover Entertainment
- Formats: CD, Digital Download
35 7 2012 When Will It Stop? - Released: TBD
- Label: XL Recordings, Takeover Entertainment
- Formats: CD, Digital Download
Mixtapes
- Best of Giggs 1
- Best of Giggs 2
- Best of Giggs 3[6]
- Bloody Raw
- The Beginning
- Hollow Grind
- Hollowman Meetz Blade[7]
- Welcome 2 Boomzville
- Ard Bodied[8]
- Another Quick One
- Who Said That
- Take Your Hats Off (Hosted by DJ Whoo Kid) (2011)[9]
Singles
Year Single Peak Positions Album UK
[10]
[11]UK
INDUK
R&B2009 "Slow Songs" (featuring Mike Skinner) – – – Let 'Em Ave It 2010 "Don't Go There" (featuring B.o.B) 60 3 16 "Look What the Cat Dragged In" 53 3 20 "Hustle On" – – – As a featured artist
Year Single Peak
PositionsAlbum UK 2010 "Shot Music" (with Devlin) – "Game Over" (with Tinchy Stryder, Devlin, Example, Professor Green, Tinie Tempah + Chipmunk) 22 Third Strike Guest appearances
Year Single Album 2009 "Look Out" with Skepta Microphone Champion "Zip ItUp" with Wiley & Trigger Race Against Time "Riding Season" with Dubz Ard Doe "Black Bandana Wearer" with Joe Grind & Killa Ki Not Your Average Joe "Gully Trap" with Joe Grind & Gunna "Looking Up The Game" with Joe Grind & Boost 2010 "Back 2 Basics" with Sway The Delivery Mixtape "30 Rounds" with J Bubbs, Malik, S.A.S & Gfresh "Shutdown" with Joe Black 2011 "Be With You" with Ny "Popstar" with Angel "Gucci Gucci" with Kreayshawn Music videos
Year Title Director 2009 "You Raised Me / Open Up" Teddy Nygh "Uummm!" "Look Out" (with Skepta) SB.TV "Slow Songs" (with Mike Skinner) Adam Powell 2010 "Don't Go There" (featuring B.o.B) Adam Powell "Look What the Cat Dragged In" Adam Powell "30 Rounds" (with J Bubbs et al.) Jason McKoy "Shot Music" (with Devlin) Digital Dan "Hustle On" Adam Powell "Out There" Morgan Keyz "Game Over" (with Tinchy Stryder et al.) Adam Powell "Bus Commercial" Post Diddy 2011 "Matic" (with Gunna Dee & Y. Butch) Post Diddy & Chas Appeti "Monsta Man" Oliver Whitehouse "Look Over Your Shoulder" (with Example) Oliver Whitehouse References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i [1]
- ^ a b "Giggs NME Interview". http://www.djsemtex.com/blog/2010/01/08/giggs-nme-interview/.
- ^ a b Lester, Paul. "Giggs (No 672)". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/19/new-band-giggs. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
- ^ Walk In Da Park sold out
- ^ http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/17/2010-07-03/
- ^ "Best Of Giggs 3". Download A Mixtape (DAM). http://www.downloadamixtape.com/?page_id=195&mixtape_id=247.
- ^ "Hollowman Meetz Blade Mixtape". Mixtape Madness. http://mixtapemadness.co.uk/mixtapes/giggsandblade/hollowmeetsblade.
- ^ "Ard Bodied Mixtape". Mixtape Madness. http://mixtapemadness.co.uk/mixtapes/giggsdubz/ardbodied.
- ^ "Giggs Take Your Hats Off Mixtape". Mixtape Madness. 2011-02-11. http://mixtapemadness.co.uk/mixtapes/giggs/tyho. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
- ^ http://www.theofficialcharts.com
- ^ Jhme.co.uk
External links
Studio albums Walk In Da Park (2008) · Let Em Ave It (2010)Singles Featured singles "Shot Music" · "Game Over"Related articles Takeover Entertainment Ltd. Directors/managers 
Musicians/producers/DJs/engineers Artists
Dappy · Dot Rotten · Giggs · Jodie Connor · Ria Ritchie · Ruff Sqwad
Songwriters
Ayak Thiik · David Dawood · Jodie Connor · Nathan Retro
Producers
David Dawood · Dirty Danger · Nathan Retro · Rapid
DJ/Computer DJs
David Dawood · DJ Sir Spyro · Nathan Retro
Audio engineers
David Dawood · Dirty Danger
Mixing/Mastering engineers
Nathan Retro · Rapid
(Discography)Businesses Takeover Roc Nation (music; 50%) · Takeover/Cloud 9 (music publishing; 50%) · Star in the Hood (company) (fashion; 100%)Partners Live Nation · EMI · EMI Music Publishing · Sony Music Entertainment · Roc Nation · StarRoc · Stargate · TMS · Three Six Zero Group · Universal Music Group · Universal Island RecordsCategories:- British hip hop musicians
- Black British musicians
- Rappers from London
- People from Peckham
- Living people
- 1983 births
- People from London
- Grime artists
- Takeover Entertainment artists
- XL Recordings artists
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