Skinnyman (born Alexander Graham Holland, 9 November 1974) is a British rapper who was born in Chapeltown, Leeds, Yorkshire and moved to Finsbury Park, London at a young age. He is best known for his sole album Council Estate of Mind.
Biography Skinnyman was born in 1974 in Chapeltown, Leeds. He moved to London with his mother and two siblings at the age of ten. The family lived on the Six Acres Estate next to Andover Estate. Among his friends was fellow Leeds-born, London-raised Cornwall DJ Pat Mckay.
In the early 1990s, he was part of the Bury Crew. Later he formed the Mud Family with Mongo, Chester P and Farma G. The group which released a number of EPs including the Mud Family EP in 2002. They also released "Itchy Town" and "Lash Suttin", a reworking of Redman's "Smash Something". Later Mr. Ti2bs, Uncle Festa and more joined the group.
Skinnyman appeared in the first episode of Tower Block Dreams, aired in January 2004. It was a documentary series on BBC Three which looked into the underground music scene in council estates.
Council Estate of Mind (2004 - present) Skinnyman released his sole solo album, Council Estate of Mind in 2004. The album was released on Low Life Records in 2004, shortly before Skinnyman was again incarcerated. It spent two weeks in the official album chart, with a peak position of number 65. Notably many samples on the album are taken from the 1982 television play Made in Britain.
He played a small part in the 2005 interactive TV series Dubplate Drama.
In 2011, Skinnyman was sentenced sixteen months for threatening his ex-girlfriend and damaging her car.
Skinnyman claimed in a 2019 interview with The Face to have "never been paid a penny to this day from Council Estate of Mind."
Discography Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions Title Details Peak chart positions UK UKR&B UKInd. Council Estate of Mind Released: 9 August 2004 Label: Low Life Records Formats: CD, digital download 65 15 6
Singles and EPs Fuck the Hook EP (2003, Low Life) No Big Ting / Council Estate of Mind (2004, Low Life) I'll Be Surprised / Never Gonna Happen (2004, Low Life) Creatures of the Night / My Life in Rhymes (2004, PM Muzik) Forever Rangers / Not Bonnie & Clyde (Instrumentals) - Skinnyman & DJ Flip (2005, Netgroove) Sensi Skank - Ruben da Silva feat. Skinnyman & Manasseh (2011, RR008) Music Speaks Louder Than Words (2011) Ya Fool - K*ners & Skinnyman (2022)
Guest appearances
The London Convention – The London Allstars (single), 1997 New Mic Order – Task Force, 1999 putt the word out – mystro & jargon, 1999 deal real records U.S.S.R. Life from the Other Side – DJ Vadim, 1999 The Unknown – Mark B & Blade, 2000 Twilight Of The Gods – Skitz (single), 2000 Word Lab – Various Artists, 2000 Big Tings We Inna – Rodney P (single), 2001 Biro Funk – Braintax, 2001 Countryman – Skitz, 2001 The Legacy: Episode 1 – Various Artists, 2001 Bang Y2K – DJ Vadim (single), 2002 U.S.S.R. The Art Of Listening – DJ Vadim, 2002 Straight Outta Botley- WESTWOOD VOLUME 2, 2002 Asylum Speakers – Foreign Beggars, 2003 Civilians – Dark Circles, 2003 The World According to RZA – Various Artists, 2003 Basementality EP (Part 1) – Underground Alliance, 2004 Elementz Universe Vol. 1 – The Elementz (single), 2004 Have Patience – Karl Hinds, 2004 Lets Av It – Karl Hinds Feat. Skinnyman 2004 When I Give My Heart To You – DJ Mentat (single), 2004 Bar Fight – First Rate (single), 2005 Fame And Money – The Booty Bouncers (single), 2005 Skitz Homegrown Vol. 2 – Various Artists, 2005 Tip of Da Mysberg Volume 1 – Mystro, 2005 Up Your Speed (remix) – Sway, 2005 The Whole Nine - Sway, Life & Skinnyman 2006 U Must Learn - Skinnyman, KRS-One, Paradise 2006 Change Your Heart – Nemesis & Arrogance Real Records, 2006 One Less Gun – Delta, The Lostralian LP 2006 Another Day – Angela Lawriw, 2006 Shakespeare (remix) Akala The Boy Who Cried Wolf – Dap C feat. Skinnyman & S.Kalibre NGU Records, 2006 Down – Lunar C, 2017 Thriller - Fliptrix (Prod. Joe Corfield) High Focus Records, 2019 Jack - RATS, When I Say Run Records, 2019 All In Together - Ricky Lix feat. Cappadonna, Skinnyman & Harry Ixer (2021) TrueMendous - Yourself or The World?(Prod. Illinformed) High Focus Records, 2022 Price of Love - Blacksmith, 2022
References
External links Official website BBC Radio 1 Interview Mud Family discography at the UK Hip Hop Database