Like the overwhelming majority of all notable UK hip-hop acts, Skinnyman is a Londoner. His music is London, his accent is London, and his swagger is London. A minor point of interest, though, is that he was born in Leeds, a background that ties in very much with his ‘council estate’ persona.
Skinnyman’s discography is deep, although it consists mostly of guest appearances and posse cuts, starting out circa 1997 with a slew of Mud Fam freestyles such as the following…
And brief verses alongside the loose London Allstars collective:
Fastforward a couple of years to 1999, and Skinnyman had graduated to mixtape cuts, appearing on “Da Struggle”, alongside the likes of Fallacy, a track lifted from a low-budget DJ Disorda Suspect Packages mixtape.
By 2003, Skinnyman was releasing singles and EPs in his own right – mostly in vinyl format, and initially exclusively rolling with Low Life Records until their abrupt demise in 2007, after which Skinnyman bounced from one indie label to another.
His first – and, to date, only – album, Council Estate of Mind, was a long time in its coming, released the best part of a decade after Skinnyman begin to creep onto the UK hip-hop scene in the late 1990s.
Council Estate of Mind is not an excellent record. It is not even amongst the cream of UK hip-hop which, it saddens me to say, still has a long way to go before its overall quality and consistency matures into a packaged product that can rival its American brethrens’ scene. It is, however, an above average album, from a significantly above average emcee.
With production largely handled by Adam M, Baby J and DJ Noize, Council Estate of Mind takes us on a journey through London’s sprawling public housing provisions, which are roughly equivalent to US projects. Make no mistake, there are no happy endings throughout this record – which is poignantly laced with vocal interludes lifted from the iconic film Made in Britain. For its faults (which, to be completely fair are relatively few), Council Estate of Mind portrays British lower working class life like it is. No airs, no graces, and definitely no glitz and glamour. Your life ain’t complete until you’ve heard “Fuck The Hook”:
Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you read the Daily Fail), Skinnyman is currently incarcerated, serving a moderate 16 month bid for the harassment and assault of a female acquaintance. Most strikingly, though, is that Skinnyman – real name Alexander Holland – was described as being of no fixed abode, rendering this extraordinarily talented man effectively homeless. And that, my friends, is a sad state of affairs…
Following the demise of Low Life Records, Council Estate of Mind is now in a (probably permanent) OOP state. In the meantime, cop it, bump it, and live in hope that upon his release, Skinnyman cleans up his act, hits the studio, and does what he does best…
