Nicholas James Donnelly (born 17 May 1988) is a British

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, media platform founder and former music video producer.

Career

Music Videos

In December 2010, Donnelly first gained national exposure when directing/producing the music video Game Over Female Takeover, an independent, zero budget release that featured many of the leading female urban artists in England on one video. These artists included Lady leshurr, Mz Bratt, Ruff Diamondz, Cherri Voncelle, and

Amplify Dot Ashley Charles (born 9 April 1988), also known as A.Dot or Dotty, is an English rapper, DJ, and radio and television presenter. She is best-known for presenting on BBC Radio 1Xtra from 2014 to 2020 and co-presenting the BBC One show '' Sounds L ...

The video served as the official remix to the record "

Game Over "Game over" is a message in video games which informs the player that their play session has ended, usually because the player has reached a loss condition. It also sometimes appears at the successful completion of a session, especially in ga ...

" and charted number 4 on British television channel Flava while reaching over a million viewers on the online platform

GRM Daily GRM Daily (Grime & Rap Music Daily), formerly Grime Daily, is a British urban music outlet and entertainment platform. As the name suggests, the platform is an outlet for UK rap and its various genres, such as UK drill, afroswing, trap, and Br ...

('Grime Daily' at the time). At the beginning of 2011, Donnelly produced the two-part music video ''Bad Boys Remix'', a collaboration with rap artist Swiss from the

So Solid Crew So Solid Crew are a British UK garage and hip hop collective originating from Battersea, London, which achieved wide success in the early 2000s. The group consisted of many members, the most notable being Asher D (Ashley Walters), Lisa Ma ...

. Bad Boys Remix 1 featured

Blak Twang Blak Twang (born Tony Olabode in England), who also uses the pseudonyms Taipanic and Tony Rotton, is a British rapper who grew up in Deptford, Lewisham, South-East London. Blak Twang is admired for his live performances, and is also respected fo ...

, Klashnekoff, and Akala among others from the late 2000 UK hip-hop scene, while Bad Boys Remix 2 featured

Charlie Sloth Charlie Ian Paul Rouillon (born 20 August 1981), known professionally as Charlie Sloth, is a British DJ, hype man, producer and TV presenter. Early life Krept and Konan Krept and Konan is a British hip hop duo from London, consisting of Casyo Valentine "Krept" Johnson BEM (born 4 February 1990, Gipsy Hill) and Karl Dominic "Konan" Wilson BEM (born 3 September 1989, Thornton Heath), the son of Delroy Wils ...

and others. In October 2011, Donnelly launched his first media platform 'Urban Kingdom' with music video Oliver Whitehouse when Nick Donnelly teamed with

Ruff Ryders Entertainment Ruff Ryders Entertainment is an American hip hop record label and management company founded by siblings and record executives Joaquin "Waah", Darrin "Dee" and Chivon Dean in 1988. It operated as a subsidiary of Universal, and distributed by Int ...

to direct the music video ''Love Through The Speakers'' for battle rapper Murda Mook - the first music video from his mixtape 401k that was hosted by

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...

and featured appearances from

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...

and

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

. Urban Kingdom also produced music videos directed by Oliver Whitehouse such as '''Lord Giveth Lord Taketh Away''' by

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper and songwriter. He signed with Interscope Records in 2006 and recorded his debut album for the label; however, its release was cance ...

and

Statik Selektah Patrick Owen Baril (born January 23, 1982), professionally known as Statik Selektah, is an American record producer, disc jockey (DJ) and radio personality originally from the Boston, Massachusetts area. He is also the founder of Showoff Records ...

, '''High On Life''' by Phil Ade and

Raheem Devaughn Raheem DeVaughn (born May 5, 1975) is an American singer and songwriter. His debut album, '' The Love Experience'' (2005), reached No. 46 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. It featured the singles "Guess Who Loves You More" and "You". His ...

, produced by

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is an American record producer, record ...

and Krept Paranormal Activity Remix''' by Krept featuring

Ghetts Justin Jude Clarke-Samuel (born 9 October 1984), better known by his stage name Ghetts (formerly Ghetto), is a British Grime (music), grime MC, rapper, songwriter and actor. His music has been played on national radio stations such as BBC Radio ...

, Scorcher and others. Donnelly directed the debut music video for American soul singer Jalen N'Gonda. Jo Harman's music video ''The Reformation'' was directed by Donnelly, as is the Hannah Williams & The Affirmations video, ''Late Nights & Heartbreak'', that was sampled by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

on the title track to his

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-nominated record '' 4:44''. Donnelly worked again with Hannah Williams & The Affirmations for the title track to their 2019 album ''50 Foot Woman''. The music video to ''50 Foot Woman'' was premiered by

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

and FIP In November 2019, Donnelly worked with UK rap artist Blue Meth and US hip-hop artist

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

from

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

on the music video ''Winnebago''. In February 2020, Donnelly released his final music video ''What Ya Tellin Me'' with Blue Meth which premiered on Worldstar.

Feature Films and Documentaries

Donnelly's first film ''God Save The Queen'' was released in December 2015 and featured

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

artist and

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

inductee

Martha Reeves Martha Rose Reeves (born July 18, 1941) is an American R&B and pop singer. She is best known for being the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas, which scored several major Hot 100 hits such as " Nowhere to Run", "Heat ...

, as well as British songwriter Carla Marie Williams who wrote the tracks "Runnin'" and "

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

" for

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

. In 2018,

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

premiered a documentary, at their London headquarters, directed and filmed by Donnelly at Abbey Road Studios that was about Williams' process making music for herself. The documentary also features

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen, Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivi ...

, Misha B,

Leah McFall Leah McFall (born 1 July 1989) is a British singer-songwriter from Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. She finished as the runner-up on the The Voice UK (series 2), second series of the BBC One talent series ''The Voice UK, The Voice''. Early lif ...

and Paigey Cakey In August 2020 Urban Kingdom released Donnelly's second feature documentary film ''Street Smart''. The film features the only behind the scenes footage from

20th Anniversary Tour in Manchester, Brixton and at

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...

as well as exclusive interviews with

Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon ( ), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of the ...

and the only English language interview with Danish music Liv Lykke whose record Tiden Flyver (as part of Boom Clap Bachelors) was sampled by

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

on his record 'Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe.' Nick Donnelly's platform Urban Kingdom has also interviewed

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

Lonnie Liston Smith Lonnie Liston Smith Jr. (born December 28, 1940) is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with such jazz artists as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of ...

, Zuby,

Immortal Technique Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), known artistically as Immortal Technique, is an American rapper, activist and songwriter. His lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as politics, religion, institutional racism, and govern ...

, RA The Rugged Man and

Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of singles that found success in Europe and Australia, with both "Can the Can" (1973) and "Devil Gate Drive" ...

. In August 2022, Donnelly's Urban Kingdom released their second platform 'Generation W' which launched with exclusive videos with Charlie Morgan Stacey Copeland and more.

Books and Magazines

In July 2019, Donnelly's production company Urban Kingdom published ''Generation W'', a book which featured 100 British women writing about living through 100 years since women began to receive the vote in the UK. Women writing for the book include Olympic champion Sally Gunnell, Carol M. Black, Averil Mansfield, Lily Cole and

Susie Wolff Suzanne Wolff ( Stoddart; born 6 December 1982) is a Scottish former professional racing driver and current managing director of F1 Academy. Wolff started in kart racing, karting, before graduating to Formula Renault and Formula Three, th ...

. Donnelly's debut fiction book ''Urban Legends'' was released on 6 July 2022, and entered at number 9 in the movie and television chart and number 27 across all horror books on

Kobo Inc. Rakuten Kobo Inc., or simply Kobo, is a Canadian company that sells ebooks, audiobooks, e-readers and formerly tablet computers. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is a subsidiary of the Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakute ...

In October 2022, Generation W launched their first magazine titled ''Wearth''. Issue One was released exclusive to the city of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and featured exclusive interviews with women such as Maggie O'Carroll, Lizzie Acker and Freya Cox from the television show ''

The Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...

'', Rain Castillo, a semi-finalist on the 2022 edition of the show ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing reality competition television series. Created by John de Mol and Roel van Velzen, it premiered on BBC One on 24 March 2012. Based on the original Dutch singing competition '' The Voice of Holland'', and ...

'', Ngunan Adamu a presenter for

BBC Radio Merseyside BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC's local radio station serving Merseyside, North and West Cheshire and West Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds, from studios on Hanover Street in Liverpool. According to RAJAR, t ...

and others. Issue One launched at

The Zanzibar The Zanzibar is a live music venue located on Seel Street in Liverpool, England, best known for being the home of regular clubnights such as " The Bandwagon" and "Valhalla", among others. Unlike most clubs in Liverpool, the music is generally rock ...

in Liverpool. At the beginning of March 2023, Generation W announced ''Wearth'' Issue Two, launching at the Millennium Powerhouse

Youth center A youth center or youth centre, often called youth club, is a place where young people can meet and participate in a variety of activities, for example table football, association football (US soccer, UK football), basketball, table tennis, vid ...

Moss Side Moss Side is an Inner city, inner-city area of Manchester, England, south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. It had a population of 20,745 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census. Moss Side is bounded by Hulme to the north, Cho ...

, Manchester, birthplace of suffragette

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst (; Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women to win in 1918 the women's suffrage, right to vote in United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

. Issue two of the magazine was photographed and edited by Donnelly and features Nxdia on the front cover and included written interviews with Erinma Bell MBE, Rebecca Friel MBE, The KTNA and others. In March 2024, Issue Three of Wearth was announced and featured exclusive interviews with Sophie B. Hawkins,

Anna Smith (critic) Anna Smith is an England, English film reporter, former chair of the London Film Critics' Circle, and host of the Girls on Film podcast. She has contributed to the BBC, Sky News, ''Time Out (magazine), Time Out'', ''the Guardian'' and'' The Film ...

and more. In August 2023, to celebrate 50 years of hip-hop, Donnelly's documentary film ''Street Smart'', screened at Songbyrd Music House in Washington D.C., US and Rich Mix Cinema in London, England. Donnelly also announced his new book ''Hip-Hopulation'' which features interviews with hip-hop artists all over the world, including Prabh Deep (India),

Ez Mil Ezekiel Miller Sapiera (born July 27 1998), known by his stage name Ez Mil ( ), is a Filipino-American rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. He rose to prominence after his song " Panalo" gained public attention. At age 25, he became the firs ...

(The Philippines),

Silvana Imam Silvana Imam (; born 19 September 1986) is a Swedish rapper. She is known for her political songs protesting racism, homophobia, and the Sweden Democrats. Biography Early life Imam was born in Plungė, Lithuania. Imam's mother is from Lithua ...

(Sweden), Frenkie (Bosnia) and Kobie Dee (Australia). The book was premiered in August 2024 partnering with Majora Carter's Boogie Down Grind in The Bronx, New York City.

Music

In September 2020, Donnelly's Urban Kingdom launched ''Generation Worldwide'' which featured over 50 female-led artists from over 20 countries performing musical performances during the global Coronavirus lockdowns in association with the ''Generation W'' book. Musicians performing for the Urban Kingdom festival included

Karen Harding Karen Harding (born 18 November 1991) is an English singer and songwriter from Consett, County Durham. Her first single, " Say Something", released in February 2015, entered the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart. Early life Born to an English fat ...

, Girli, Aubrey Logan and Kalben. Speaking to '' The Courier'', Donnelly said "The idea for Generation Worldwide was reactionary... It was one of these ideas so crazy it might just work, but so crazy you would never even dream of writing it down in plan... Knowing that the music industry was broken this year, and knowing that on average only 19% of performers at festivals are women, we took this opportunity to create a new experience". On 23 July 2021, Donnelly's platform Urban Kingdom reopened the Newcastle music venue The Cluny for the first time since the removal of lockdown restrictions in the UK. Artists performing were Abi Nyxx, Lizzie Esau and Georgia May. In August 2021, Donnelly and Urban Kingdom put on the first live music show at Orange Yard in Soho, a venue that was formerly known as Borderline and had hosted shows for artists such as

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

and

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

Artists performing at the event at Orange Yard included Nadia Javed of the British pop punk band The Tuts,

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

graduate Olivia Swann,

BRIT School BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology is a British performing and creative arts school located in Selhurst, Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, music, music technology, ...

graduate Saina, Chelsea Blues and Atlanta Mae. After launching originally with a live out show at The Troubadour with Storry in March 2023, Nick Donnelly's Generation W platform made a live music debut in New York City, at Rockwood Music Hall which ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' did an exclusive feature on and has continued to put on live music shows at venues such as Oh Yeah (music centre) in Belfast, Tiny Rebel in Cardiff, Outernet London on

Denmark Street Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th centu ...

in London and more.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Nick 1988 births Living people Videographers