Kano

Following the success of East London Grimesters Wiley and Dizzee Rascal, Kano burst onto the mainstream UK Hip Hop scene in early 2005. Not quite grime, but certainly not your general rap, Kano’s flowing style of MCing has won the hearts of both the underground, and mainstream music scene.

Growing up in London, little Kane Robinson proved quite the talented footballer, even signing for Chelsea youth team, but (thankfully) opted for a career in music. Kano’s rapping days started in the East London group, The N.A.S.T.Y Crew, but after branching out on his own, he signed for Micky Skinner’s 679 records as a solo artist. Whilst touring extensively on the UK rave scene, Kano’s 2004 12” single ‘Ps and Qs’ shot him to unprecedented success (especially after it inclusion on the seminal Grime compilation ‘Run the Road’). Further singles and features followed, but it was the 2005 release of studio album ‘Home Sweet Home’ that blew Kano into the Hip Hop stratosphere. Entering the UK album chart at #36, the album sees Kano explore his musical diversity, working with a range of producers including Da Vinci, and even man of the moment, Paul Epworth.

2005 just kept getting better for Kane – after winning MOBO and Channel U awards for ‘Best Newcomer’ and ‘Best of British’ awards respectively, being named as one of London’s Heroes 2005 by Mayor Ken Livingstone, he was nominated for a Brit. November 2005 saw the release of underground mixtape, ‘Beats and Bars’, Kane returning to his roots and demonstrating his devotion to the underground hip hop scene. Only available online, or for sale at concerts and raves, the mixtape sparked huge debate on message boards across the country – which is better, a studio album, or an underground release? One thing’s for sure, both releases were met with critical acclaim, stamping Kano’s authority on the urban scene.

But 2005 had a nasty sting in its tail for Kano, as his much anticipated home-coming London headline show was cancelled by the Metropolitan Police amidst security fears. ‘The papers were saying all kind of shit about undesirable elements of my entourage, bare bullshit’ Kano told Gigwise in early 2006 following the rescheduled triumphant concert.

2006 sees the release of UK gangster film ‘Rolling with the Nines’ in which Kano makes a cameo appearance, as well as making new tunes for the soundtrack. He will also be recording his long awaited second studio album, and expects it to be released before the start of 2007. For now, rumors continue to fly about regarding Jay Z’s desire to get Kano signed to Def Jam, but the East boy is going nowhere – ‘breaking America? Nah, I ain't properly broken here yet!’

Discography

ALBUMS
Home Sweet Home (2005)
Beats and Bars Mixtape (2005)

SINGLES
Ps and Qs (12” single only) (2004)
Typical Me (2005)
Remember Me (2005)
Nite Nite (2005)
Brown Eyes/Signs in Life (2006)
Nobody Don’t Dance No More [Remix] (2006)

FEATURES AND COMPILATIONS
Run the Road Volume 1 (679 records, 2004) (Ps and Qs, Destruction VIP, Fit but you Know it remix)
Routine Check (The Mitchell Brothers from the album ‘A Breath of Fresh Attire’)
Run the Road Volume 2 (679 records, 2005) (Get set, Mic Check Remix)