Estelle

Estelle Fanta Swaray (born 18 January 1980) is a British singer, rapper and actress.

She is known for her eclectic blending of musical genres including R&B, soul, reggae, grime, hip hop, and dance.

She has collaborated with prominent American artists including John Legend, Robin Thicke, Rick Ross, Chris Brown, will.i.am, Kanye West, Akon, and Tyler, the Creator.

Her breakthrough track came when "1980" was released by the V2 label and reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.

A street-level mixtape series called Da Heat and further 12"s like "Free" and "Go Gone" helped build a loyal following, and Estelle gave back to the UK hip hop scene by forming her own Stellarents label to sign new artists. The album was a modest success, debuting at No. 35 on the UK albums chart, and generating two top 20 singles. She received a MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Award in the UK for Best Newcomer.

Three years later, US R&B singer John Legend announced that Estelle would be the first signee to his HomeSchool label, distributed by Atlantic in the US.

Her career got a jump-start in the early 2000s when she happened to see Kanye West sitting in a restaurant while on a trip to Los Angeles.

Estelle approached Kanye, introduced herself and asked for an introduction to John Legend.

Local hero Skitz asked her to appear on his 2001 album, Countryman, and soon she landed on albums by artists such as The 57th Dynasty and Blak Twang.

She made her solo debut in 2003 with the 12" "Excuse Me", released on the label Paradise Isle.

After signing with V2 Records, Estelle released her debut album The 18th Day (2004), which reached number 35 on the UK Albums Chart.

She eventually got that introduction, and Legend eventually helped produce two songs on her debut album, The 18th Day, which was released in the UK in October 2004.

"She has a special voice, unlike any other voice out there in mainstream music, and she can really write. She writes hip lyrics with unforgettable melodies. I recognised that in her when I first worked with her in 2004."

He continues, "I'm excited and honored to have Estelle as the first artist on my label, Homeschool Records. I believe the world is going to fall in love with her album, as I already have. Estelle is an amazing talent, and she's going to do big things."

The lead single, "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)", released in November 2007.

Her second album, Shine (2008) was released through a joint venture with John Legend's Homeschool Records and Atlantic Records, and effectively tailored to international audiences by entering the US Billboard 200 as well as other international charts.

The album was preceded by the single "American Boy" (featuring Kanye West), which peaked atop the UK Singles Chart, reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, and received a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

In 2008, Estelle rose to fame with her collaboration with rapper Kanye West, titled "American Boy".

This song reached the top 10 in many countries worldwide, including the United States and Canada, as well as achieving number-one status on the UK Singles Chart.

Her third album, All of Me (2012) solely entered American and Australian charts, and was supported by the single "Thank You"—which received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance.

The album served as her final major label release.

Estelle has provided both the speaking and singing voice for the fictional character Garnet in the animated series Steven Universe (2013–2019), a role which she reprised in Steven Universe: The Movie (2019) and Steven Universe Future (2019–2020).

She made cameo appearances in the films Beyond the Lights (2014) and Girls Trip (2017), and appeared as Linda in the Netflix original film Fatal Affair (2020).

Estelle hosts and presents The Estelle Show on Apple Music, which has ran for over 500 episodes.

Swaray was born and raised in Hammersmith, London.

Her mother's family came from Dakar, Senegal, and her father is Grenadian.

She was the second born of nine children.

Swaray's parents were very religious when she was growing up, and secular music was not allowed in the family's home.

Instead, spiritual music—particularly American gospel—and West African music were what Swaray grew up listening to.

However, she would sometimes listen to hip hop when not at home.

She spent her childhood listening to her parents' reggae records and her aunt's soul collection before discovering hip hop.

"I got into hip hop from my uncle; he was always playing us Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane; he was a bad boy and my mum wasn't really happy that I was hanging out with him".

By the time she was in her early 20s, she had decided on a music career.

She used to be a nanny before she began her music career.

Estelle got her start in London's renowned hip-hop record store Deal Real.

Her fellow employees encouraged her to take a chance and get on the mic on-stage; soon she was playing numerous London clubs and appearing with the likes of Manuva and Rodney P.

Four years after The 18th Day's release, Estelle returned with her second album, Shine.

Though it was her second album, it was the first to be released in the US and her major-label debut.

Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Wyclef Jean, Will.i.am, Mark Ronson and Cee-Lo Green and Jack Splash all worked on the album, which was executive produced by John Legend.

"Her sound is a unique blend of hip hop, R&B, reggae and soul," explains Legend.