Plan B

Drew was raised in London; his mother worked for a local authority and his father, Paul Ballance, played in a punk rock band called the Warm Jets during the 1970s.

He was five months old when his father walked out on the family, and six years old when his father "disappeared completely".

Growing up, Drew felt isolated, stating, "We weren't working class but we weren't middle class, we were in the void in-between. I've always felt like a social outcast."

He is a fan of Arsenal F.C.

From 11, Drew attended the Anglo European School in Ingatestone, Essex.

He later transferred to Tom Hood School before being expelled and sent to Tunmarsh Pupil Referral Unit in Newham, London, for children unable to attend mainstream school.

He finally left school with three GCSEs.

He taught himself how to play guitar at 14, first playing Blur and Oasis songs with friends, then going on to write his own R&B love songs.

At 18, feeling uncomfortable with R&B, he turned towards rap and hip hop and wrote "Kidz", inspired by the murder of Damilola Taylor.

Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew (born 22 October 1983), better known by his stage name Plan B, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor and filmmaker.

Plan B first appeared with the track "Cap Back", produced by DJ Wonder (formerly of Roll Deep), on the grime compilation album Run the Road (2005).

His first single "Kidz"/"Dead and Buried" was also released in 2005 as a limited edition 7" vinyl on his own label Pet Cemetery Records. He soon gained a recording contract with 679 Recordings and released his second double A-side single "Sick 2 Def"/"No Good", filming his debut music video for "No Good".

He first emerged as a rapper, releasing his debut album, Who Needs Actions When You Got Words, in 2006.

In early 2006, Plan B released a video-only download single for "Missing Links", which later had to be re-recorded because he did not gain sample permission from Radiohead for the use of "Pyramid Song".

He also released his first mixtape It's Time 4 Plan B with the May 2006 issue of Hip Hop Connection magazine.

On 23 June 2006, Plan B made his first television appearance on Later... with Jools Holland, performing an acoustic version of "Mama (Loves a Crackhead)".

His début album Who Needs Actions When You Got Words was recorded with producers Paul Epworth, Fraser T. Smith and the Earlies, and was released 26 June 2006, charting the following week at number thirty on the UK Albums Chart.

The album gained positive reviews from most critics, including a five-star review from The Guardian's Alexis Petridis.

In July 2006, "Mama (Loves a Crackhead)" was released as a single, becoming the first Plan B song to appear on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number forty one.

In 2006, Paul Epworth and Plan B collaborated again on the track "More Is Enough" by Epic Man (Paul Epworth).

After touring throughout 2006, playing at festivals such as Reading and Leeds, a music video was filmed for "No More Eatin'" to accompany the release of Plan B's Live at The Pet Cemetery EP on 30 October 2006 (including a new version of "No More Eatin'" and two b-sides).

On 11 December 2006, he released the Remixes EP (which included the Hadouken! remix of "No More Eatin'").

Drew explained his stage name during an appearance on USA Today in 2007, stating, "The whole reason for calling myself Plan B was that I was doing this sweet-boy Justin Timberlake shit, but I never felt comfortable... when I started rapping, it was easier for me to feel comfortable."

During his January–February 2007 tour (which included support from Professor Green, Example, Killa Kela and Hadouken!), Plan B released his second mixtape Paint It Blacker, containing bootleg recordings of songs by artists such as the Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Radiohead, Coldplay, Leonard Cohen and José González with producers Sem, Beni G from the Mixologists and Amir Amor.

In 2007, Plan B re-released the song "No Good" with new remixes, and a music video was filmed for the b-side "Bizness Woman" (featuring beatboxer Kila Kella).

Also in 2007, Plan B featured on songs by other artists such as Professor Green, Killa Kela, Skrein, Shameless and the Mitchell brothers.

Drew has also had a successful film career as an actor, with roles in Adulthood (2008), Harry Brown (2009), 4.3.2.1. (2010) and The Sweeney (2012).

With a supporting role in the film Adulthood (2008), Plan B recorded three songs for the film's soundtrack – "End in the Streets", "On It 08" with Adam Deacon and "I Need Love" featuring Raleigh Ritchie.

Plan B also featured on the Chase & Status single "Pieces", which topped the UK Dance Chart in 2008 and peaked at number seventy on the UK Singles Chart.

He has also collaborated with other artists such as Chase & Status, most notably on the 2009 top ten single "End Credits".

In 2009, Plan B recorded "Shifty" with Riz MC and Sway, which was lifted from the soundtrack to Eran Creevy's film Shifty (2009), starring Riz Ahmed (Riz MC) and Daniel Mays.

Also in 2009, Plan B played Noel Winters in Harry Brown, and achieved his first Top ten hit single with "End Credits", another collaboration with Chase & Status which featured in the soundtrack for Harry Brown.

His second studio album, The Defamation of Strickland Banks (2010), was a soul and R&B album, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart.

Plan B's second album and film The Defamation of Strickland Banks was released on 12 April 2010.

The lead single from the album, "Stay Too Long", reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart.

The next single from the album, "Love Goes Down", was accompanied by an official music video featuring Andy Crane, Paul Young, Abbey M. Butler, Vicky McClure and Kaya Scodelario, which had its own premiere on 16 November 2010.

He supported Noel Gallagher on the second night of his solo shows at the Royal Albert Hall on 26 March 2010, and played in Bangor at the Radio 1 Big Weekend on 23 May 2010 on the New Music We Trust stage.

He performed a duet of "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" with Elton John as part of Elton's BBC Electric Proms performance at the Roundhouse in London in October 2010.

On 16 February 2011, Drew won Best British Male at the Brit Awards.

In 2012, he released the film Ill Manors, for which he wrote and directed and made the music, accompanied by a Plan B soundtrack album which became his second number one album.