British rapper and record producer
AJ Tracey
|
---|
AJ Tracey performing in 2019
|
|
Birth name
| Che Wolton Grant
[1]
|
---|
Also known as
|
- AJT
- GTraceO
- Looney
- Loonz
- AJ
|
---|
Born
| (
1994-03-04
)
4 March 1994
(age 30)
Brixton
, London, England
[2]
|
---|
Origin
| Ladbroke Grove
, London, England
|
---|
Genres
| |
---|
Occupations
|
- Rapper
- singer
- songwriter
- dancer
- record producer
|
---|
Years active
| 2009?present
|
---|
Labels
| Independent
[4]
|
---|
|
Website
| ajtracey
.co
.uk
|
---|
Musical artist
Che Wolton Grant
(born 4 March 1994), known professionally as
AJ Tracey
, is an independent British rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer.
[5]
He is from
Ladbroke Grove
,
West London
.
[6]
Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by
The Guardian
in a list of "best new acts to catch at festivals in 2016".
[7]
Tracey's first mainstream EP,
Secure the Bag!
(2017) entered the
UK Albums Chart
at number thirteen. In 2018, Tracey released the single "
Butterflies
" featuring British rapper
Not3s
which served as his commercial breakthrough, peaking in the top 20 on the
UK Singles Chart
. His
self-titled debut album
, which was released independently in 2019, received critical acclaim and peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. It featured his highest-charting single as a solo artist, "
Ladbroke Grove
", which peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart and was certified
platinum
by the
BPI
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Grant was born in
Brixton
and raised in
Ladbroke Grove
,
West London
.
[2]
Grant's father, of
African-Trinidadian
origin, is a former rapper,
[8]
and his
Welsh
mother is a former
jungle
DJ.
[9]
He was named by his mother after the revolutionary
Che Guevara
.
[8]
He has been rapping since the age of six.
[2]
He was educated locally at Middle Row Primary school and went on to attend
Holland Park School
. He dropped out of a criminology course at
London Metropolitan University
to pursue his music career.
[10]
He is an avid supporter of
Tottenham Hotspur
.
[11]
Career
[
edit
]
2011?16: Emergence and EPs
[
edit
]
Under the stage names Looney and Loonz, Tracey's music can be found online dating back to June 2011. An early
SoundCloud
account, Looney Tell 'Em, contains eleven tracks, each with free downloads enabled. These include four songs from the scrapped grime EP
The Dungeon
(featuring non-exclusive beats from Spooky and Rude Kid) and two songs from
Didn't Make the Cut
, originally slated for release on the scrapped hip hop mixtape
Fuck a Fairytale
.
[12]
His debut mixtape,
Didn't Make the Cut
, was released 13 September 2012,
[13]
[
non-primary source needed
]
and comprises 21
UK rap
and
grime
songs and freestyles which, in his own words, are "the tracks that didn't make it onto my actual mixtape". The project was initially to be titled
Scirocco Musik
and its artwork still reflects this title. In August 2013, his collective, My Team Paid, announced that they were to release a joint mixtape entitled
My Team Paid
.
[14]
One single, "Clouded Skies", emerged, but the project was ultimately scrapped. Tracey's second mixtape,
No More Looney
, was released through
DatPiff
on 30 August 2014. The project includes thirty-three tracks, many of which feature fellow My Team Paid members
Big Zuu
, Jay Amo, Wax and Sketch.
[15]
Tracey first gained attention through appearances on pirate radio stations and the release of his debut EP
The Front
in mid-2015.
[16]
[17]
In December 2015, Tracey released his second EP
Alex Moran
, which featured acclaimed tracks including "Spirit Bomb" and "Naila".
[7]
[18]
[19]
[20]
BBC Radio 1Xtra
DJ Sian Anderson also played "Swerve and Skid" heavily on her show during 2015, which was the first song of his that was on commercial radio.
[8]
During this period, Tracey also recorded (but did not release) a
trap
EP entitled
Rain
.
[21]
[22]
In 2016, Tracey ? a
Tottenham Hotspur
fan ? appeared in promotional material for
BT Sport
's coverage of the
Premier League
.
[23]
He also collaborated with
Dave
over a remix of
Ruff Sqwad
's Pied Piper to create a well received track entitled "Thiago Silva".
[24]
[25]
2017?2020:
Secure the Bag!
and self-titled album
[
edit
]
In October 2017, Tracey released his fifth EP,
Secure the Bag!
.
[26]
He also began producing records that year.
[
citation needed
]
He made his production debut on "LA4AWEEK", co-produced by Nyge and released in April 2017, and later produced label-mate Big Zuu's "Tell Man Twice", released in August 2017.
In early 2018, AJ Tracey modelled for the OVO clothing line in 2018.
[27]
In May 2018, Tracey released the single "
Butterflies
" featuring
Not3s
. The song served as AJ Tracey's commercial breakthrough, peaking at number 19 on the
UK Singles Chart
. The single was followed up with "Lo(v/s)er", which peaked at number 38. Tracey also featured on Craig David's album "The Time is now" collaborating on the track "Somebody like me". In early July 2019 the Swedish rapper
Z.E
[
sv
]
released his second album,
Mer an rap
("more than rap"). Tracey was featured on the title track "More Than Rap".
On 21 November 2018, Tracey announced the pre-order of his
self-titled debut album
, released on 8 February 2019. The lead single, "Doing It", was released for streaming and digital on the same day.
[28]
[29]
Four more singles were released to promote
AJ Tracey
: "
Butterflies
" featuring
Not3s
, "Psych Out!", "Necklace" featuring Jay Critch and "
Ladbroke Grove
".
AJ Tracey
debuted at number three on the
UK Albums Chart
and is certified
Silver
by the
British Phonographic Industry
(BPI). "Ladbroke Grove" became Tracey's highest-charting single peaking at number three on the
UK Singles Chart
.
[30]
[31]
On 10 October 2019, Tracey announced the upcoming release of a deluxe edition of
AJ Tracey
, to feature five new songs and a couple of surprises. The album was released on 25 October. On 14 February 2020, AJ Tracey announced his Australian tour starting in Adelaide on 24 April, but was later postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
.
[32]
2020?present:
Secure the Bag! 2
and
Flu Game
[
edit
]
On 6 October 2020, AJ Tracey released the tracklist for his sixth EP,
Secure the Bag! 2
on Twitter and was later released on 27 November 2020.
[33]
[
non-primary source needed
]
[34]
The EP debuted at number 75 on the
UK Albums Charts
.
[35]
On 4 February 2021, Tracey featured on the track "Bringing It Back" by
Digga D
.
[36]
The song topped the UK Chart's Official Trending Chart and debuted at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart.
[37]
On 16 April 2021, Tracey released his second studio album titled
Flu Game
, which includes singles such as "
Dinner Guest
", "
West Ten
", "Anxious" and "Bringing It Back". Five hours prior to the release of the album, AJ released the single "Little More Love" as well as releasing a music video on YouTube.
[38]
[39]
On 26 August 2021, Tracey was featured on the
Gorillaz
track "Jimmy Jimmy" from their
Meanwhile EP
.
[40]
In 2023, he received the
Brits Billion Award
by the
British Phonographic Industry
for achieving over 1 billion career streams in the UK,
[41]
and released the fourth instalment in the
Wifey Riddim
series, his first track as lead artist since 2022.
[42]
Politics
[
edit
]
In June 2017, Tracey endorsed
Labour Party
leader
Jeremy Corbyn
in the
2017 UK general election
. In a Labour Party campaign video he said: "The Labour Party strongly support the youth in following their dreams and giving people a chance." He added: "In my opinion we need a Labour government to give young people a hope, a chance for their future and I genuinely believe that Corbyn is the man to do it."
[43]
In an October 2019 interview with
The Observer
, Tracey voiced concerns about
climate change
and said: "If I'm voting for anyone now it's the
Green Party
."
[44]
Discography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
O'Connor, Roisin (8 February 2019).
"AJ Tracey interview: 'I put strippers in my last video because I like women'
"
.
The Independent
.
Archived
from the original on 13 October 2019
. Retrieved
13 October
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
"AJ Tracey ? BBC Sound of Music 2017"
.
BBC Music
.
Archived
from the original on 22 April 2019
. Retrieved
23 June
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
"AJ Tracey on new album, goat cover, Cadet passing away, Giggs, his style, tour"
.
Tim Westwood
on YouTube
. 16 February 2019.
Archived
from the original on 26 September 2020
. Retrieved
18 February
2019
.
- ^
Homewood, Ben (6 February 2019).
"
'You need nerves of steel': How AJ Tracey became the fresh face of independent music | Talent"
.
Music Week
.
Archived
from the original on 26 January 2020
. Retrieved
21 May
2020
.
- ^
Savage, Mark (12 July 2019).
"AJ Tracey puts independence before profits"
. BBC.
Archived
from the original on 12 July 2019
. Retrieved
12 July
2019
.
- ^
"Rising Grime MC AJ Tracey Ascends To New Heights On This Silk Road Assassins Remix | The FADER"
. thefader.com.
Archived
from the original on 27 May 2016
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"The best new acts to catch at festivals in 2016 | Music | The Guardian"
.
The Guardian
.
Archived
from the original on 6 June 2016
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
"AJ Tracey Interview: the lad from Ladbroke Grove takes on the world"
.
NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM
. 1 February 2019
. Retrieved
14 November
2020
.
- ^
BBC Radio 1Xtra (24 March 2016).
"AJ Tracey drops a freestyle for Toddla T"
.
Archived
from the original on 14 June 2018
. Retrieved
8 November
2017
– via YouTube.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
"AJ Tracey: 'I had to do everything on my own'
"
.
The Guardian
. 27 October 2019
. Retrieved
29 May
2022
.
- ^
"My team forever ? AJ Tracey on Spurs"
. Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 23 November 2017
. Retrieved
5 April
2021
.
- ^
"Looney Tell 'Em"
.
SoundCloud
.
Archived
from the original on 16 January 2012
. Retrieved
14 July
2018
.
- ^
"Toonz MTP on Twitter"
.
Archived
from the original on 26 September 2020
. Retrieved
14 January
2017
.
- ^
My Team Paid (11 August 2013).
"MTP ? Clouded Skies"
.
Archived
from the original on 8 April 2020
. Retrieved
14 January
2017
– via YouTube.
- ^
"AJ Tracey ? No More Looney"
.
DatPiff.com
.
Archived
from the original on 18 January 2017
. Retrieved
14 January
2017
.
- ^
"Interview: AJ Tracey | Dummy Mag"
. dummymag.com.
Archived
from the original on 23 May 2016
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
"Hear 'Champions League' from AJ Tracey's new EP | RWD"
.
Rwdmag.com
.
Archived
from the original on 25 June 2016
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
"AJ Tracey's "Naila", Produced By Zeph Ellis, Is A Classic-In-Waiting | Complex UK"
. uk.complex.com.
Archived
from the original on 21 August 2016
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
"AJ Tracey announces second EP Alex Moran"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 December 2015
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
"One of the Most Killer Grime Tracks of 2015 Now Has a Video, Here's AJ Tracey's "Naila" | NOISEY"
.
Vice (magazine)
. 8 January 2016.
Archived
from the original on 3 March 2016
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
"AJ Tracey dons his 'Trapsuit' for new track | RWD"
. rwdmag.com.
Archived
from the original on 25 June 2016
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
"Daily Discovery: AJ Tracey | Pigeons & Planes"
. pigeonsandplanes.com.
Archived
from the original on 2 August 2016
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
"AJ Tracey vs P Money: The Spurs v Arsenal grime battle | BT Sport"
. sport.bt.com.
Archived
from the original on 29 June 2016
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
"
"Thiago Silva" by Dave / AJ Tracey Review | Pitchfork"
.
Pitchfork
.
Archived
from the original on 7 June 2016
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
"Dave & AJ Tracey go international with 'Thiago Silva'
"
. thefourohfive.com.
Archived
from the original on 14 May 2016
. Retrieved
4 June
2016
.
- ^
Armstrong, Megan (6 October 2017).
"AJ Tracey Drops 'Secure The Bag!' Grime EP: Interview"
.
Billboard
.
Archived
from the original on 10 October 2017
. Retrieved
19 October
2017
.
- ^
"Meet AJ Tracey, The College Dropout Keeping Grime Fresh"
.
The FADER
.
Archived
from the original on 1 October 2018
. Retrieved
1 October
2018
.
- ^
"AJ Tracey unleashes new single "Doing It" & announces debut album"
. GRM Daily. 21 November 2018.
Archived
from the original on 21 November 2018
. Retrieved
21 November
2018
.
- ^
"AJ Tracey to release self-titled debut album early next year"
.
Fact Mag
. 21 November 2018.
Archived
from the original on 21 November 2018
. Retrieved
21 November
2018
.
- ^
"AJ Tracey announces debut album details"
.
The Fader
. 21 November 2018.
Archived
from the original on 21 November 2018
. Retrieved
21 November
2018
.
- ^
"AJ Tracey's Gone Back to His Grime Roots With "Doing It"
"
.
Noisey
. 21 November 2018.
Archived
from the original on 21 November 2018
. Retrieved
21 November
2018
.
- ^
Jackson Langford (13 February 2020).
"AJ Tracey Announces 2020 Australian Tour"
.
Musicfeeds.com.au
.
Archived
from the original on 26 September 2020
. Retrieved
21 May
2020
.
- ^
"aj on Twitter: "STB!2 on the way"
"
. 6 October 2020
. Retrieved
14 November
2020
– via Twitter.
- ^
Balram, Dhruva (27 November 2020).
"AJ Tracey ?
Secure The Bag! 2
EP review: UK rap don goes back to his roots with surprise release"
.
NME
. Retrieved
14 February
2021
.
- ^
"Official Charts"
.
Official Charts
. Retrieved
23 March
2021
.
- ^
Winter, Courtney (4 February 2021).
"Digga D & AJ Tracey Go Back to Back on Huge Collaboration "Bringing It Back"
"
.
GRM Daily
.
- ^
"Digga D and AJ Tracey score top trending song in the UK"
.
Official Charts
.
- ^
"AJ Tracey announces new album 'Flu Game' with fake press conference"
. Retrieved
23 March
2021
.
- ^
Balram, Dhruva (15 April 2021).
"AJ Tracey ? 'Flu Game' review: UK rapper remains in a league of his own"
.
NME
. Retrieved
26 December
2023
.
- ^
"Gorillaz release surprise new EP 'Meanwhile', celebrating Notting Hill Carnival"
.
NME
. 26 August 2021
. Retrieved
27 August
2021
.
- ^
Smith, Carl (4 May 2023).
"Lewis Capaldi, Mariah Carey and more honoured with new BRIT Billion award"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved
10 June
2023
.
- ^
Pilley, Max (22 December 2023).
"Listen to AJ Tracey's return with new track 'Wifey Riddim 4'
"
.
NME
. Retrieved
26 December
2023
.
- ^
Britton, Luke Morgan (29 May 2017).
"Watch AJ Tracey explain why he's backing Jeremy Corbyn and Labour in UK election"
.
NME
.
Archived
from the original on 7 June 2017
. Retrieved
11 June
2017
.
- ^
Hutchinson, Kate (27 October 2019).
"AJ Tracey: 'I had to do everything on my own'
"
.
The Observer
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
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|
Studio albums
| |
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Singles
| |
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Featured singles
| |
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