Tyron Kaymone Frampton (born 18 December 1994[1]), better known by his stage name Slowthai (stylised in lowercase), is a British rapper. Raised in Northampton,[3] he rose to popularity in 2019 for his gritty and rough instrumentals and raw, politically charged lyrics, especially around Brexit and Theresa May's tenure as British prime minister. Slowthai placed fourth in the BBC Sound of 2019 and followed up in the same year with his debut studio album, Nothing Great About Britain. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize; at Slowthai's 2019 Mercury Prize ceremony performance, he held a fake severed head of British prime minister Boris Johnson on stage, prompting controversy.[4] Ensuing years saw the releases of his second and third studio albums, Tyron (2021) and Ugly (2023).
Slowthai | |
|---|---|
 Slowthai at Glastonbury Festival in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tyron Kaymone Frampton |
| Born | 18 December 1994[1] Northampton, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Labels | |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Website | slowthai |
Early life
Tyron Kaymone Frampton was born on 18 December 1994 in Northampton to Gaynor, a teenage mother who is half-Barbadian. Frampton, his sister, and his brother were raised by their single mother in a council estate in the Lings area of Northampton.[5] His younger brother Michael died shortly after his first birthday, which greatly affected Frampton.[5][6] Frampton attended Northampton Academy and in 2011 attended Northampton College, where he studied for a BTEC in Music Technology. Frampton has ADHD[7] and frequently skipped school during his years at Northampton Academy, often spending time at a nearby underground "recording studio" at his friend's house, only stopping when his mother was forced to attend a compulsory court hearing.[8] After college, Frampton had multiple short stints in employment, working as a labourer, a plasterer, and at a branch of Next before being fired for breach of contract after he gave his friend employee discounts.[9]
Career
2016–2019: Beginnings and Nothing Great About Britain
The name Slowthai originates from his childhood nickname given to him due to his slow speech and drawled tone: "slow ty".[10] In 2016, he released his break-out single, "Jiggle", produced by Sammy Byrne.[11][12]
In 2017, Slowthai partnered up with indie record label Bone Soda to release his I Wish I Knew EP, "Murder" and "T n Biscuits".[13] Later in the same year, Slowthai signed his recording contract with Method Records and since has released his Runt EP and debut studio album, Nothing Great About Britain, which peaked at number 9 on the Official Charts on the week of release.[14]
In addition to being included in the BBC's Sound of 2019 poll[15] and NME's NME 100 list,[16] Slowthai as well received acclaim from publications such as DIY, Vevo and Metro.[17][18][19] Alongside that, his debut album was shortlisted for a Mercury Music Prize, losing to Dave's Psychodrama.[20]
Slowthai contributed additional, uncredited vocals on the song "What's Good"[21] from Tyler, the Creator's album Igor. He is also featured on "Heaven Belongs to You"[22] from Brockhampton's album Ginger and later joined their HBTY North American tour in 2019 as the special guest.[23]
2020–2021: Tyron
In January 2020, Slowthai was featured alongside UK punk band Slaves on Gorillaz's single "Momentary Bliss". The single was the first "episode" of their Song Machine project.[24]
On 12 February 2020, after winning the Hero of the Year award at the NME Awards, Slowthai made sexual comments about host Katherine Ryan. After audience members began shouting at him, Slowthai dropped his microphone into the crowd, which was then thrown back at him along with a drink. Slowthai then threw his own drink and jumped into the crowd.[25] Slowthai has since apologised, while Ryan has said the situation was taken the wrong way.[26][27]
On 10 May 2020, Slowthai released the single "Enemy".[28] On 13 May 2020, Slowthai released the single "Magic" with producer Kenny Beats.[29] The following day, on 14 May 2020, Slowthai released the single "BB (Bodybag)".[30]
On 15 September 2020, Slowthai released the single "Feel Away" featuring James Blake and Mount Kimbie.[31] The song was said to be a tribute to his brother, for the anniversary of his death.[32] On 19 November, Slowthai released the single "nhs" alongside a tracklist for his album Tyron, releasing 5 February 2021, which was then delayed a week, and planned to release 12 February 2021.[33] On 18 December 2020, Slowthai released "Thoughts" as a non-album single, along with a lyric video that featured local police responding to a complaint of a social gathering.[34] On 5 January 2021, Slowthai released "Mazza", a single featuring A$AP Rocky.[35] On 9 February 2021, Slowthai released "Cancelled", a single featuring Skepta.[36] On 12 February 2021, Slowthai released the album Tyron, which has features including Skepta, Dominic Fike, James Blake, A$AP Rocky and Denzel Curry.
2022–present: Ugly
On 9 November 2022, Slowthai released "I Know Nothing".[37] On 25 January 2023, Slowthai released the single "Selfish" and announced his new album, UGLY, which was released on 3 March 2023.[38] UGLY is an acronym which stands for "U Gotta Love Yourself".[39]
Personal life
Slowthai is a supporter of his hometown football team Northampton Town, with parts of the music video for "Gorgeous" having been filmed at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium.[40] He has also stated that he supports Liverpool F.C.[41]
In the summer of 2020, Slowthai got engaged to Russian singer and model Katya Kischuk, former member of the Russian girl group Serebro, whom he met online.[42][43][44] On 18 June 2021, Kischuk gave birth to the couple's son.[45] In December 2022, Kischuk confirmed on her Telegram channel that the couple had separated earlier that year.[46]
In February 2023, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Slowthai confirmed his relationship with British pop singer Anne-Marie,[47] whom he started dating in early 2022.[48] The couple secretly married in July 2022 in Las Vegas. In February 2024, Anne-Marie gave birth to their daughter.[49]
Rape charge
On 15 May 2023, Slowthai was charged with two counts of rape relating to an incident alleged to have happened in September 2021.[50] On 15 June, Slowthai appeared at Oxford Crown Court alongside co-defendant Alex Blake-Walker. He pleaded not guilty to both charges. The trial was set to begin on 1 July 2024.[51] However, the proceedings have been delayed and a new date was set for 25 November 2024. The trial is estimated to last for two to three weeks.[52]
Musical style
His music has been categorised as grime[53] and hip hop.[54] He often includes elements of punk rock,[55][56] leading to the categorisation of grime-punk.[57][58] In a 2019 article for the BBC, Kev Geoghegan described him as "either a grime MC making punk music or a punk making rap music".[59] In an article for Vice Media, Niloufar Haidari described his music as "caustically witty bars over abrasive beats that blend grime, trap, Soundcloud rap and even punk and screamo".[60]
He has cited as musical influences Gesaffelstein, Juelz Santana, Elliott Smith, Radiohead, Nirvana, Mount Kimbie, Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, Jay-Z, Sex Pistols, Justice, Oasis, Kanye West and Die Antwoord.[60][61]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Sales | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [62] | AUS [63] | BEL (FL) [64] | GER [65] | IRE [66] | NLD [67] | NZ [68] | SWI [69] | ||||
| Nothing Great About Britain |
| 9 | — | — | — | 64 | — | — | — |
| |
| Tyron |
| 1 | 11 | 24 | 23 | 2 | 53 | 13 | 24 |
|
|
| Ugly |
| 2 | 85 | 26 | — | 3 [73] | 85 | 30 [74] | 91 |
| |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| slowitdownn ノノ |
|
| I Wish I Knew ノノ |
|
| Runt |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [62] | IRE [66] | NZ Hot [78] | ||||
| "Jiggle"[79] | 2016 | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Murder"[80] | 2017 | — | — | — | ||
| "T n Biscuits"[81][a] | 2018 | — | — | — |
| Nothing Great About Britain |
| "The Bottom"[82][b] | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "North Nights"[82][a][b] | — | — | — | Nothing Great About Britain | ||
| "Ladies"[83][a] | — | — | — | |||
| "Polaroid"[84][a] | — | — | — | |||
| "Drug Dealer"[85][a] | — | — | — | |||
| "Rainbow"[86][a] | — | — | — | |||
| "Doorman" (with Mura Masa)[87] | — | — | — |
| ||
| "Peace of Mind"[88] | 2019 | — | — | — | ||
| "Gorgeous"[89] | — | — | — | |||
| "Nothing Great About Britain"[90] | — | — | — | |||
| "Inglorious" (featuring Skepta)[91] | 50 | — | — | |||
| "Toaster"[92] | — | — | — | |||
| "Psycho" (with Denzel Curry)[93] | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Deal wiv It" (with Mura Masa)[94] | — | — | — | R.Y.C | ||
| "Enemy"[95] | 2020 | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Magic" (with Kenny Beats)[96] | — | — | — | |||
| "BB (Bodybag)"[97] | — | — | — | |||
| "My High" (with Disclosure and Aminé) | 86 | — | — | Energy | ||
| "Feel Away" (featuring James Blake and Mount Kimbie)[98] | 92 | — | 34 | Tyron | ||
| "NHS"[99] | — | — | — | |||
| "Thoughts"[100] | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Mazza" (with A$AP Rocky)[101] | 2021 | 72 | 89 | 20 | Tyron | |
| "Cancelled" (with Skepta)[102] | 39 | 54 | 10 | |||
| "Vex"[103] | — | — | — | |||
| "ADHD"[104] | — | — | — | |||
| "I Know Nothing"[105] | 2022 | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Selfish"[106] | 2023 | — | — | — | Ugly | |
| "Feel Good"[107] | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||
Notes
- a Appears on the deluxe edition of Nothing Great About Britain only.
- b "The Bottom" and "North Nights" were released as a double A-side.
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [62] | IRE [66] | |||
| "Interior" (JD.Reid featuring 808INK, Slowthai, Oscar #Worldpeace)[108] | 2017 | — | — | Calibrate EP |
| "Noddy" (Earbuds featuring Slowthai)[109][110] | 2018 | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Lighthouse" (Take a Daytrip featuring Rico Nasty, Slowthai and IceColdBishop)[111] | 2019 | — | — | |
| "Momentary Bliss" (Gorillaz featuring Slowthai and Slaves) | 2020 | 58 | 74 | Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez |
| "Glidin'" (Pa Salieu featuring Slowthai)[112] | 2021 | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "BDE" (Shygirl featuring Slowthai)[113] | — | — | ||
| "Slugger" (Kevin Abstract featuring $not and Slowthai)[114] | — | — | ||
| "Model Village" (Idles featuring Slowthai)[115] | — | — | Ultra Mono | |
| "Zatoichi'" (Denzel Curry featuring Slowthai) | 2022 | — | — | Melt My Eyez See Your Future |
| "In Your Eyes'" (Dom Maker featuring Danny Brown and Slowthai)[116] | — | — | MK 3.5: Die Cuts / City Planning | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
Other charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [62] | FRA | IRE [66] | NZ Hot [117] | |||
| "High Beams" (with Flume and HWLS) | 2019 | — | — | — | 7 | Hi This Is Flume |
| "45 Smoke" | 2021 | — | — | — | 25 | Tyron |
| "Terms" (with Dominic Fike and Denzel Curry) | 71 | — | 88 | 11 | ||
| "Push" (with Deb Never) | — | — | — | 24 | ||
| "Fallen Angels" (Laylow featuring Slowthai) | — | 55 | — | — | L'étrange histoire de Mr. Anderson | |
| "Sooner" | 2023 | — | — | — | 32 | Ugly |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album | Credit(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Like a See Saw"[118] | 2015 | Lord Pusswhip | Lord Pusswhip Is Wack |
|
| "Piggy Bank"[119] | 2018 | JD.Reid | Tree |
|
| "High Beams"[120] | 2019 | Flume, HWLS | Hi This Is Flume |
|
| "What's Good"[121] | Tyler, the Creator | Igor |
| |
| "Meanwhile... at the Welcome Break"[122] | The S.L.P. | The S.L.P. |
| |
| "Heaven Belongs to You"[123] | Brockhampton | Ginger |
| |
| "Tyron (Interlude)"[124] | 2020 | Headie One, Fred Again | GANG |
|
| "Barry White"[125] | Zero | Non-album single |
| |
| "Pressure in My Palms"[126] | Aminé, Vince Staples | Limbo |
| |
| "Graveyard Shift"[127] | AJ Tracey | Secure the Bag! 2 | ||
| "Fallen Angels" | 2021 | Laylow | L'étrange Histoire de Mr.Anderson |
|
| "Funeral" | James Blake | Friends That Break Your Heart | ||
| "Family Tree" | 2022 | Kenny Beats | Louie |
|
| "Up All Week"[128] | Mura Masa | Demon Time |
| |
| "Kissing" | Mount Kimbie, Dom Maker | MK 3.5: Die Cuts / City Planning |
| |
| "Grudge" | 2023 | Anne-Marie | Unhealthy |
|
Awards and nominations
| Year | Organization/Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Ticketmaster | New for 2019 | Himself | Included | [129] |
| Vevo | DSCVR 2019 Artists to Watch | Included | [18] | ||
| BBC | Sound of 2019 | Fourth | [15] | ||
| DIY | Class of 2019 | Included | [17] | ||
| Metro | Ones to Watch 2019 | Included | [19] | ||
| 2019 | UK Music Video Awards | Best Urban Video - UK | "Inglorious" (featuring Skepta) | Nominated | [130] |
| Q Awards | Breakthrough Act | Himself | Nominated | [131] | |
| Best Album | Nothing Great About Britain | Nominated | |||
| Hyundai | Mercury Prize | Nominated | [132] | ||
| 2020 | Hungarian Music Awards | Best Foreign Hip-Hop or Rap Album | Nominated | [133] | |
| NME Awards | Best Album | Nominated | [134] | ||
| Best Album in the World | Nominated | ||||
| Best British Song | "Deal wiv It" (with Mura Masa) | Nominated | |||
| Best Song in the World | Nominated | ||||
| Best British Solo Act | Himself | Nominated | |||
| Best Solo Act in the World | Nominated | ||||
| Best Live Act | Nominated | ||||
| Best Collaboration | Himself (with Mura Masa) | Won | |||
| UK Music Video Awards | Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Video - UK | "Psycho" (with Denzel Curry) | Nominated | [135] | |
| Best Dance/Electronic Video - UK | "Deal wiv It" (with Mura Masa) | Nominated | |||
| "My High" (with Disclosure and Aminé) | Won | ||||
| Best Editing in a Video | Nominated | ||||
| 2021 | Grammy Awards | Best Dance Recording | Nominated | [136] | |
| UK Music Video Awards | Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Video - UK | "Feel Away" (with James Blake and Mount Kimbie) | Nominated | [137] |
References
External links
Media related to Slowthai at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
- Slowthai at AllMusic
