Ryan Giggs gradual rise to stardom

Football fans will be well aware of the name Giggs. Welsh international Ryan Giggs joined Manchester United on his 14th birthday in 1987. After making his first team debut in 1991, he remained with the club throughout his career before retiring from playing on May 19, 2014. United were so successful during this time that Giggs has more winners medals than any other player in world football.
Ryan’s namesake, the London-born rapper Giggs, has also found fame. Now 33, he has been active in the music business since 2005. Unlike Ryan, who was a star almost from his first game, Giggs has gradually risen to stardom. A member of the notorious Peckham Boys gang, he decided to pursue music after serving a two-year prison sentence for possession of a firearm.
“I was a different person back then,” said the man born Nathaniel Thompson. “I’d left school at 16. I had no prospects of getting a decent job and didn’t want one. I was part of the SN1 set of the Peckham Boys. My world was one of crime, drugs, violence and gang warfare.
“Music became my way out. But it didn’t happen overnight. I was an angry young man and these feelings came out in my song lyrics. My involvement with the Peckham Boys decreased but I was still part of the social circle. The gang members were still my friends.”
His first musical efforts were a succession of mixtapes such as Hollowman (his original rap name) Meets Blade, Welcome to Boomzville, Best of Giggs and Ard Bodied.
In 2008, he independently released his debut LP, Walk in da Park, which reached number 148 on the UK albums chart and number 34 on the R&B chart. Critics hailed the album as a rap classic. Such was the response that Giggs was named Best Hip Hop Act: UK on America’s Black Entertainment Television Awards show.
The follow-up, 2010’s Let Em Ave It, fared considerably better. It peaked at number 35 on the UK albums chart and number seven on the R&B chart. The album also spawned his first singles to enter the UK top 100. Don’t Go There reached number 60 and Look What The Cat Dragged In hit number 53.
But his continuing relationships with members of the Peckham Boys landed Giggs back in jail as recently as February, 2012.
“I had been recording at the Huxbear Street studio in Brockley. This is a community project which I’d part-funded with the inner-city charity XLP. The idea was to give kids a place to go to keep them off the streets.
“I’d had a few drinks so wasn’t going to drive home and accepted a lift from a couple of friends. The police stopped the car and found a loaded gun plus more rounds of ammunition. We were all charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
“With my previous gun conviction, I was remanded in custody. Despite having no connection to the gun, I was probably looking at a long jail term. But one of the guys eventually pleaded guilty to having the gun and my defence council convinced the jury that with everything I had to lose, there was no way I’d risk a ten-year jail sentence by firing at people from the car window.”
The difference between Giggs in 2005 and 2012 was evident in his feelings about being recognised by fellow inmates while on remand at Belmarsh prison.
“They regarded me as a celebrity but all I felt was shame. I thought I’d put that part of my life behind me and was trying to use what influence I might have to point young people in the right direction. But there they were seeing me in jail again. I worried that any kids I had been able to help would think I’d conned them.”
Despite his legal issues, Giggs’ mainstream popularity continued to grow. 2013’s When Will It Stop reached number 21 on the UK album chart and number two on the R&B chart. But this paled in comparison to his recently released fourth album. Landlord peaked at number two on the album chart and took pole position on the R&B chart.
“Somebody said I’ve become a pop star. But a lot of rappers have much bigger hits than me. It’s rewarding to know I’m able to reach more people with my music. I’ll keep on trying to become a better rapper and a better person.”

in brief

The Tragically Hip
The Tragically Hip are a quintessentially Canadian band. The Kingston, Ontario, rockers have made little impact on the charts outside their native land. But nine of their 13 studio albums have topped the Canadian chart. Only their 1989 debut LP, Up To Here, failed to make the top three. Their 1997 live album, Live Between Us, also took top spot while the 2005 compilation, Yer Favourites, reached number two.
The band have also received a plethora of Canadian music awards including 14 Junos. They have a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto and were even depicted on a Canadian postage stamp.
So it was that the people of Canada were profoundly affected by the announcement earlier this year that singer and guitarist Gord Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. But The Hip also announced a nationwide concert tour to promote their latest album, Man Machine Poem.
The recently completed tour was an emotional experience for the audiences and band members. Although some media outlets suggested it would be their farewell tour, the band made no such statement. Gord’s tumour is incurable but it has responded favourably to radiation and chemotherapy treatment. Further recordings and concerts will be dependent upon the state of his health.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation aired The Hip’s final concert at Kingston’s K-Rock Centre. It was broadcast live on television, radio and the Internet, a fitting tribute to a band who have effectively soundtracked life in Canada for most of the last 30 years.

Dark Forest
Heavy and power metal tends not to feature as prominently in the mainstream music charts as it did around 30 years ago. But there are still many bands who release high quality music and play sold out concert tours.
One of these is English quintet Dark Forest. Hailing from the West Midlands town of Dudley, the band formed in 2002. It was five years later before they self-released their first EP, Fear Dearg, and another two before their eponymously titled debut album. This can be heard in full at www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZgnJpgalzs
Two more albums, Dawn of Infinity and The Awakening, allied to a solid concert schedule, greatly increased their fan base. Both of these albums are available to hear in full at (no www.) darkforest-uk.bandcamp.com
The band have now released their fourth studio album, Beyond The Veil. Lead track, The Undying Flame, is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4OOVJAYV3w&feature=youtu.be

Yellowcard
The track takes around 30 seconds to really get going but Yellowcard’s new single, The Hurt Is Gone, is worth the wait. The video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m5Br9Jg50A
It is the second track taken from the Los Angeles-based quartet’s self-titled tenth and final studio album which is scheduled for release on September 30.
The band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997. They have undergone numerous personnel changes over the years. Only violinist/vocalist Sean Mackin has remained with Yellowcard throughout their career. They will disband next March after playing a final tour of North America, Europe, Australia and Japan.
A video for Rest In Peace, lead single from the new album, is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUNw3xAbNPc. Much more Yellowcard music can be found on YouTube.

Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga will be the leading lady in the latest Hollywood remake of A Star Is Born.
The original film, which starred Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, was made in 1937. It was remade with a slightly different story in 1954. Judy Garland and James Mason took the starring roles. A third version, again with a slightly different story, appeared in 1976. Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson played the lead protagonists.
Gaga will write and perform new music for the latest remake. Production should begin in 2017.