CAREER:
SKEPTA’S PASSION FOR HIP-HOP, BOTH AMERICAN AND BRITISH, INSPIRED HIM TO KICKSTART HIS MUSIC CAREER BY PERFORMING ON PIRATE RADIO STATIONS AND PARTICIPATING IN VARIOUS MC BATTLES. IN 2005, HE CO-FOUNDED THE GRIME LABEL BOY BETTER KNOW WITH HIS BROTHER J.M.E. AND WILEY. HE JOINED THE EAST LONDON COLLECTIVE ROLL DEEP BUT LEFT SOON AFTER TO FOCUS ON HIS SOLO CAREER AND BOY BETTER KNOW.
IN 2010, SKEPTA SIGNED WITH ALL AROUND THE WORLD RECORDS AFTER INDEPENDENTLY RELEASING HIS FIRST TWO ALBUMS, “GREATEST HITS” AND “MICROPHONE CHAMPION.” THAT SAME YEAR, HE ACHIEVED SUCCESS WITH CHART-TOPPING SINGLES LIKE “BAD BOY” AND “RESCUE ME.” SKEPTA EMBARKED ON A UK TOUR WITH CHIPMUNK AND GAINED RECOGNITION WHEN P. DIDDY PERSONALLY SELECTED HIM TO RECORD A GRIME REMIX OF “HELLO GOOD MORNING.”
IN 2011, SKEPTA RELEASED HIS THIRD ALBUM, “DOIN’ IT AGAIN,” FEATURING THE POPULAR SINGLE “CROSS MY HEART.” THE ALBUM REACHED NUMBER 19 ON THE UK ALBUM CHART. HE CONTINUED TO EXPERIMENT WITH HIS SOUND, RELEASING SINGLES SUCH AS “HOLD ON” AND “MAKE PEACE NOT WAR” IN 2012. DESPITE THEIR COMMERCIAL SUCCESS, SKEPTA DECIDED TO SCRAP HIS PLANNED ALBUM, “THE HONEYMOON,” DUE TO FAN FEEDBACK AND INSTEAD RELEASED THE MIXTAPE “BLACKLISTED” IN 2013.
SKEPTA MADE A SIGNIFICANT COMEBACK IN 2014, CONTRIBUTING TO MERIDIAN DAN’S HIT SINGLE “GERMAN WHIP.” HE COLLABORATED WITH VARIOUS ARTISTS OVER THE YEARS, INCLUDING ASAP ROCKY AND WIZKID, AND RELEASED SINGLES LIKE “PRAISE THE LORD (DA SHINE)” AND “ENERGY (STAY FAR AWAY).” HIS EP TITLED “ALL IN” WAS RELEASED IN JULY 2021, SHOWCASING HIS EVOLVING MUSICAL STYLE.
PERSONAL LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS:
IN ADDITION TO HIS MUSICAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS, SKEPTA HOLDS THE TITLE OF “CHIEF ENTERTAINER OF ODO-AJE” AFTER BEING HONORED WITH THE AMULUDUN OF ODO-AJE CHIEFTAINCY IN HIS NIGERIAN HOMETOWN OF OGUN STATE ON APRIL 4, 2018. HE IS ALSO A PROUD FATHER TO A DAUGHTER.
CONCLUSION:
SKEPTA, THE NIGERIAN-BRITISH GRIME MC, HAS LEFT AN INDELIBLE MARK ON THE MUSIC SCENE. FROM HIS EARLY BATTLES ON PIRATE RADIO TO CO-FOUNDING BOY BETTER KNOW AND ACHIEVING CHART SUCCESS, SKEPTA’S CAREER EXEMPLIFIES HIS DEDICATION AND TALENT. WITH HIS UNIQUE SOUND AND VERSATILE COLLABORATIONS, SKEPTA CONTINUES TO CAPTIVATE AUDIENCES WORLDWIDE. FOLLOW HIM ON INSTAGRAM (@SKEPTAGRAM) AND TWITTER (@SKEPTA) TO STAY UPDATED ON HIS LATEST PROJECTS AND PERFORMANCES.
