Yungun (a.k.a. Essa) is a

British hip hop UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop or British rap, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. The development of UK rap was shaped by a distinct set of regional inf ...

artist. He released his debut album ''The Essance'' on Janomi Records in 2004. He was born in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, where he currently works and resides.

Biography

He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. He began his musical career as a host and MC on pirate radio station Parlay in

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

during the mid-1990s. There he formed the group Dupa Styles with fellow MCs M.E. Moon and Devise. In 1998 Yungun made contact with Harry Love who began to play the role of Dupa Styles's DJ and Producer. Whilst still recording with the group, Yungun began a solo career, appearing on projects by LG & Lopez (''City Breaks''), Evil Ed (''The Art of Celebration'') Doc Brown (''Out There'') and Tommy Evans (''Four Horsemen'', ''Silent Mobius''). Yungun has worked with many different UK artists including

Jehst William G. Shields (born 21 August 1979), better known by his stage name Jehst, is an English Rapping, rapper and co-founder of hip hop label YNR Productions. Biography Born in Kent in 1979, Jehst spent his early childhood in Crowborough in Su ...

and Lewis Parker. Yungun tours both nationally and internationally, and regularly receives airplay from such DJs as Radio One's

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music. Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner. He is renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. From this base he ...

Bethan and Huw,

Vic Galloway Michael "Vic" Galloway (born 4 August 1972) is a Scottish radio and television presenter, writer and DJ. He hosts a self-titled show on BBC Radio Scotland every Monday from 8pm to 10pm and previously broadcast the BBC Introducing Scotland sh ...

and has performed a live studio set on

Ras Kwame Ras Kwame is a British musician, record producer, radio DJ and presenter of Ghanaian heritage."'We ...

's show. Aside from this, Yungun has also presented a feature-length show for

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...

as well as being interviewed and featured on shows from presenters such as

DJ Blakey DJ Blakey (born 3 September 1985) is a DJ from London, England. He won the UK DMC final in 2004. Career Between 2004 and 2007, he hosted a weekly show on BBC 1Xtra. He has held a residency at Fabric, London. In 2007 he supported Jurassic ...

, DJ Semtex,

Rodney P Rodney Panton, also known as Rodney P (born in Balham, London, 12 December 1969) is an English MC, as well as a radio and television personality who first gained attention via the UK hip hop scene in the 1980s. A former member of UK hip-hop gro ...

and Skitz,

DJ Kayper Kayper (born 6 August 1983) is a British DJ, music producer, and broadcaster. She hosted several shows on the BBC Asian Network and BBC Radio 1Xtra between 2006 and 2012, and is known for her contributions to hip hop and electronic music. In a 20 ...

Benji B Benjamin Benstead, known professionally as Benji B, is a British DJ, radio presenter, and record producer. A longtime BBC Radio producer and presenter, he has presented a weekly show on BBC Radio 1 since 2010 that highlights an eclectic mix of ...

and

Bobby Friction Paramdeep Sehdev () (born 21 August 1971) better known as Bobby Friction, is a DJ, television presenter and radio presenter. Early life After studying Contemporary Arts at Nottingham Trent University, Friction's career as a DJ started in 1997 ...

. He has also been interviewed by

Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2 ...

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

, and is regularly played on the station's 6mix show, as well as by numerous other Radio 6 DJs such as

Tom Robinson Living people Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits " Glad to Be Gay", " 2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with hi ...

Phill Jupitus Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''Given name#Name at birth, né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is a retired English stand-up comedy, stand-up and Improv comedy teacher, improv comedian, actor, performance poetry, performance poet, cartoonist and podc ...

Chris Hawkins Christopher Charles Hawkins (born 23 September 1975) is a British radio presenter, DJ, and music pundit. Hawkins is a regular early morning presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music. He can also be heard presenting documentary programmes on BBC Radio 4 ...

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz Vibraphone, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused ...

Liz Kershaw Elizabeth Marguerita Mary Kershaw (born 30 July 1958) is an English radio broadcaster. She is one of the longest serving female national radio DJs in the UK, celebrating 30 years on national BBC Radio in 2017. Career After graduating from the ...

and Andrew Collins, and has had live concerts broadcast on

GCap Media GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed on 9 May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index ...

XFM Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...

Station. In 2005 Yungun performed with a full live band for the BBC Africa Season at BBC's Maida Vale Studios. The show was broadcast in a special feature show on 1Xtra. He has been featured numerous publications including regular spots in ''

Hip-Hop Connection ''Hip Hop Connection'' (''HHC'') was the longest running monthly periodical devoted entirely to hip hop culture. It was described by rapper Chuck D as "the most important magazine in the world". History Under the editorship of Chris Hunt, the m ...

''. He has also performed on international festival tours, such as

Love Planet Painters and Dockers are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1982. Paul Stewart, singer-songwriter and trumpet player, Dave Pace (vocals and trumpet) and Mick Morris (vocals and sax) are all original members in the band which was n ...

and Hip-Hop Kemp, he also appeared at the 2006 Bestival Festival with

The Nextmen The Nextmen is a UK production/songwriting/DJ duo consisting of Dom Search (a.k.a. Dominic Betmead) and Brad Baloo (a.k.a. Brad Ellis). They combine hip hop music, hip hop, Drum and bass, drum & bass, Dub music, dub, Pop music, pop, Soul musi ...

. He also hosted the

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

and MTV's

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

party. In 2006 he released a new album, ''Grown Man Business'', with Mr Thing, to critical acclaim.

Discography

Albums

* ''The Essance'' (2004, Janomi) * ''Grown Man Business'' (Yungun and Mr Thing) (2006, Silent Soundz)

Singles

* "Bachelors Anthem" (2003,

white label White label may refer to: * White-label product, a permitted replication and rebranding of a product * White label record, records with plain white labels attached. * White Label Music, an independent record label based in the United Kingdom * ''Wh ...

) * "Dancing Shoes" (Mr. Thing and Yungun) (2003, Janomi) * "Push" (2004, Janomi) * "The Big Idea" ( Lewis Parker and Yungun) (2004,

Canteen Canteen most often refers to: * Canteen (bottle), a water container * Cafeteria, a type of food service location within an institution in which there is little or no waiting staff table service * A complete set of cutlery comprising knives, forks, ...

) * "Forget Me Not" (Yungun and Mr. Thing) (2006, Silent Soundz) * "Jackin 4 Breaks" (Yungun and Mr. Thing) (2006, white label)

Compilation appearances

* ''£10 Bag Volume 2'' (2003,

Music from the Corner Task Force are a British hip hop group from Highbury in London, England. The group is led primarily by two brothers Chester P (vocals, songwriting and occasional music production) and Farma G (vocals, songwriting and music production). However, ...

) ("Yungun") * ''Low Life's Main Courses—'Food (2003, Low Life) ("What Eye See") * ''Low Life's Main Courses—'Food' Instrumentals'' (2003, Low Life) ("What Eye See" (instrumental)) * ''Young and Restless Volume 1'' (2003, YNR) ("4 Horsemen", "City Breaks") * ''Doc Brown presents…Citizen Smith Vol. 1'' riple P/Poisonous Productions, 2004* ''A Slice of Paradise Volume 1'' (2004, Fusionova) ("It Don't Matter") * ''We Got Next'' (2004,

HHC Magazine HHC may refer to: Organizations * Hai Ha Confectionery, confectionery company in Vietnam * Headquarters and Headquarters Company (United States), a company-sized unit of the United States Army * Hendricks Holding Company, privately held conglome ...

) ("The Big Idea") * ''£10 Bag Volume 3'' (2004, Music from the Corner) ("Push", "Outrageous") * ''Bangers & Mash'' (2004, white label) ("City Breaks") * ''Skitz—Homegrown Volume 1'' (2004,

React REACT or React may refer to: Computing * React (software), a JavaScript library for building user interfaces from Facebook Inc (now Meta Platforms) ** React Native, a mobile application framework created by Facebook Inc (now Meta Platforms) * React ...

) ("Slumber") * ''Undercover Cuts 13'' (2004,

Undercover Magazine A cover in foreign, military or police human intelligence or counterintelligence is the ostensible identity and role or position in an infiltrated organization assumed by a covert agent during a covert operation. Official cover In espionage, an ...

) ("Push") * ''

Fabric Live 20 FabricLive.20 is a DJ mix compilation album by Joe Ransom, a part of the FabricLive Mix Series. Track listing # Pablo - Turntable Technology - ''Red Hook Recordings'' # Keith Lawrence And Seanie-T - Muzik-Ed Special - ''Muzik-Ed Productions ...

'' (2005,

Fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

) ("Nico Suave") * ''Evil Ed and K-Delight Live from Caesar's Palace'' (2005,

Playing Around ''Playing Around'' is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film with songs, starring Alice White, Chester Morris and William Bakewell. It was adapted from the story "Sheba", written by Viña Delmar. The film was produced and distributed by First Na ...

) ("Nico Suave") * ''Skitz—Homegrown Volume 2'' (2005, Silent Soundz) ("The Code") * ''The Sickness'' (mixtape) (2005, Silent Soundz) ("Nico's Back") * '' Fabric Live 26'' (2006, Fabric) ("Alphabet Man", "Surprise") * ''Above Board'' (mixtape) (2006,

Antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon antidoton)'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". An older term in English which is ...

) ("Cross My Heart") * ''Beats 'n' Rhymes'' (2007, Pistache) ("Peter Pan Syndrome", "Never Coming Down")

Guest appearances

* Tommy Evans – "4 Horsemen" (2001, YNR) * LG & Lopez – "Life Long" (2001, Sit Tight) * Delegates of Culture – "Pulse Reclusive" (2002, Delegates of Culture) * Tommy Evans – "Silent Mobius" (2002, YNR) * Doc Brown – "Out There" (2002, Janomi) * LG & Lopez – "City Breaks" (2002, Sit Tight) * Evil Ed – "The Art of Celebration" (2002, Hidden Identity) *

– "Adventures in New Bohemia" (remix) (2003, Low Life) * Harry Love – "Surprize", "Live in London" (2004,

Medication Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to medical diagnosis, diagnose, cure, treat, or preventive medicine, prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmaco ...

) * Evil Ed – "Nico Suave", "The Cavalry" (2004, Janomi) * Asaviour – "Money in the Bank" (remix) (2004, YNR) *

Beyond There Beyond may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Beyond (1921 film), ''Beyond'' (1921 film), an American silent film *Beyond (2000 film), ''Beyond'' (2000 film), a Danish film directed by Åke Sandgren, OT: ''Dykkerne'' *Beyond (2010 ...

– "Slumber" (2004, 72) * Blufoot – "Alphabet Man" (radio mix) (2005,

Scenario In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; from Italian , "that which is pinned to the scenery") is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and actio ...

) * Doc Brown – "Freestyle" (2005, Poisonous Poets) *

Ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

– "Vices/Verses" (radio mix) (2005,

Breakin' Bread The J.B.'s (sometimes punctuated The JB's or The J.B.s) was James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records, the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs, The James Brown Soul Train, Mace ...

) * Son of Scientist – "Slide" (2005, Main Squeeze) * Doc Brown – "Never Coming Down" (2005, Janomi) *

Verb T Thomas Conning (born 11 January 1981), better known by the stage name Verb T is a UK hip-hop artist based in London. Biography Verb T has released 10 albums and six EPs as well as numerous singles. His first release was the 12-track EP ''Ba ...

and Harry Love – "Behind Your Eyes" (2006, Medication/Silent Soundz) * Stylophonic – "Beatbox Show" (2006,

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

) * Doc Brown – "The One" (2006, Hiptones) * Asaviour – "Money in the Bank") (2006, Low Life) * First Man – "That Girl", "Back for More" (2007, Grindin) * Katalyst – "All You've Got" (2007, Invada)

References

External links

Yungun's official MySpace page

{{authority control English male rappers People educated at Eton College Living people Rappers from London Year of birth missing (living people)