Richard Rawson (born 5 February 1987), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Fazer, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter,

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and DJ. He is popularly known as the member of hip hop trio

N-Dubz N-Dubz are an English hip hop trio from Camden Town, London, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around t ...

releasing three studio albums and winning four

MOBO The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

awards with the group. Rawson has said that whilst growing up his biggest influences were

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

, Biggie,

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of ...

, T.I., and Jay-Z.

Early life

Fazer is the son of an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

father and Jamaican mother, and was brought up in Camden Town,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Fazer first met Dappy when they started attending the same

karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

class, becoming best friends at school. They attended

Haverstock School Haverstock School (formerly Haverstock Comprehensive School), is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located on Haverstock Hill in Haverstock, London, England. It is opposite Chalk Farm Underground station, and bounded by Prince of ...

, with third member

Tulisa Contostavlos Tula Paulinea Contostavlos (Greek: Τούλα Παυλίνα 'Τουλίσα' Κοντόσταυλου; born 13 July 1988) professionally known as Tulisa, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. As a part of the ...

(Dappy's cousin) attending the school for a while as well. It was at school that the trio became close friends and formed N-Dubz.

Career

Fazer is a member of hip hop trio

, from the age of 11. N-Dubz is known as one of the first breakthrough acts for UK Urban Music. They released three platinum-selling studio albums and won five

awards. N-Dubz released their first album, Uncle B, in 2008, followed by Against All Odds in 2009, and Love.Live.Life in 2010. In 2011 the band announced a hiatus to focus on solo projects, after a hugely successful UK Arena Tour and a compilation album

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

. The group have said on many occasions that they will reunite. In May 2022 the group officially reformed announcing a UK arena tour. On 3 March 2012, Fazer was featured on BBC1's show Urban Classics where he performed his version of ''Englishman in New York'' originally by

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-ear ...

and he also performed a tribute to Whitney Houston with Skepta. About two weeks later, Fazer remixe "

Somebody That I Used to Know "Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song written, produced, and performed by Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter Gotye featuring vocals from New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song was released in Australia and New Zealand by Eleven Music on 5 ...

" by

Gotye Wouter André "Wally" De Backer (born 21 May 1980), better known by his stage name Gotye ( ), is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. The name "Gotye" is a pronunciation respelling of "Gauthier", the French cognat ...

Fazer shot a video for his debut single " Killer" on 29 May 2012, released on 26 August 2012. In 2013, Fazer and his production partner, Peter Ibsen, both announced the opening of their production company, ''Sky's The Limit Entertainment (STL)''. Fazer released a track '6-foot 8 (freestyle)' under the new company's name. The pair produced songs for Fazer himself and other artists such as

Tulisa Tula Paulinea Contostavlos (Greek: Τούλα Παυλίνα 'Τουλίσα' Κοντόσταυλου; born 13 July 1988) professionally known as Tulisa, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. As a part of the ...

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to t ...

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, " Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut stud ...

and

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

. On 12 July 2013, Fazer headlined the Yahoo! stage at the Yahoo! Wireless Festival, and performed songs such as ''Killer'', ''Fireflies'', ''Planetary'' and an

medley. On 10 August 2013, Fazer performed at the BBC Urban Classics Prom alongside

Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The ...

. He performed ''Fireflies'' and ''Movie''. On 5 February 2014, he announced that he would now be releasing music under his real name Richard Rawson. In July 2014, Richard Rawson released his single 'Fireflies' which features vocals by Tom Parker of

The Wanted The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band consisting of group members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes and, until his death in 2022, Tom Parker. The group was formed in 2009 and signed a worldwide contract to ...

. On the track Fazer raps about his journey so far in music. The song is about hope and achieving dreams. On 24 March 2017 'Fazer' released a song 'I Woke Up'.

Personal life

Rawson had a crush on

in school, until he realised that she was Dappy's cousin. The pair were in a relationship from mid-2010 until February 2012, when they broke up during a holiday together, after they fell apart. In January 2013, it was announced he was dating model Ashley Emma, and that she was six months pregnant. On 20 February 2013 their daughter Ava Rose Rawson was born.

Discography

Singles

As Solo artist

Discography of production & Co-writes by
Fazer Fazer () is one of the largest corporations in the Finland, Finnish food industry. The company was founded by Karl Fazer in 1891, as a "French-Russian confectionery" in central Helsinki. Today, it employs over ten thousand people across Finland, ...

2012

Tulisa Tula Paulinea Contostavlos (Greek: Τούλα Παυλίνα 'Τουλίσα' Κοντόσταυλου; born 13 July 1988) professionally known as Tulisa, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. As a part of the ...
- ''
The Female Boss ''The Female Boss'' is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter and N-Dubz member Tulisa. It was released on 3 December 2012 via All Around the World and Island Records. The album's artwork was revealed on 6 October 2012 via Tulisa ...
''

*02. "Young" *04. "Damn" *06. "Live Your Life" *07. "Visa"

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to t ...
- ''Unapologetic album recording sessions''

*01. "song title unknown"

2013

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...
- ''
Alive Alive may refer to: Life Books, comics and periodicals ''Alive'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Scott Sigler * '' Alive: The Final Evolution'', a 2003 shonen manga by Tadashi Kawashima and Adachitoka * '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', ...
''

*16. "Magnetic"

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, " Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut stud ...
- ''Recording Sessions''

*01. "song title Unknown"

2014

Tulisa Tula Paulinea Contostavlos (Greek: Τούλα Παυλίνα 'Τουλίσα' Κοντόσταυλου; born 13 July 1988) professionally known as Tulisa, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. As a part of the ...
- ''Non-album Single''

*01. "Living Without You"

2016

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-p ...
- ''
Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...
''

*10. "Lost"

Music Videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fazer 1987 births Living people Black British male rappers English male rappers English people of Jamaican descent People from Camden Town Rappers from London