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

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Fazer, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and DJ. He is popularly known as a member of

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

trio

N-Dubz N-Dubz are an English hip-hop trio from Camden Town, London, England, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and their friend Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed with Polydor Records before j ...

, with whom he released four studio albums and won four

MOBO Awards 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 Ba ...

Early life

Fazer is the son of an English father and Jamaican mother, and was brought up in

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

, London. Fazer first met

Dappy Costadinos Contostavlos (Greek language, Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Κοντόσταυλος; born 11 June 1987), better known by his stage name Dappy, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter and actor. He is the lead singer of the Lond ...

when they started attending the same karate class, becoming best friends at school. They attended

Haverstock School Haverstock School (formerly Haverstock Comprehensive School and Haverstock Hill School), is a coeducational comprehensive secondary school and sixth form located on Haverstock Hill in Haverstock, London, England. It is opposite Chalk Farm Un ...

, with third member Tulisa Contostavlos (Dappy's cousin) attending the school for a while as well. It was at school that the trio became close friends and formed

Career

Fazer is a member of

trio N-Dubz, 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

MOBO Modern Baseball (sometimes abbreviated as MoBo) was an American emo band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of Bren Lukens, Jake Ewald, Sean Huber, and Ian Farmer. The band formed in 2012 at Drexel University and released their first ...

awards. N-Dubz released their first album,

Uncle B ''Uncle B'' is the debut studio album released by British hip hop group N-Dubz. The album is dedicated to former N-Dubz manager and father of Dappy, Byron Contostavlos, who died shortly before the band were signed to their second record label ...

, 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

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

where he performed his version of ''

Englishman in New York "Englishman in New York" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Sting, from his second studio album '' Nothing Like the Sun'', released in October 1987. Branford Marsalis played soprano saxophone on the track, while the drums were played by ...

'' originally by

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

and he also performed a tribute to

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

with

Skepta Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British grime MC, rapper, record producer and DJ. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding members of ...

. About two weeks later, Fazer remixed "

Somebody That I Used to Know "Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song written, produced and performed by the Belgian-Australian musician and singer Gotye featuring vocals from the New Zealander singer Kimbra. The song was released in Australia and New Zealand through El ...

" by

Gotye Wouter André De Backer (; born 21 May 1980), known professionally as Gotye ( , , ), is a Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring Kimbr ...

. 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. 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 (; born 13 July 1988), known professionally as Tulisa, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, and television personality. As a part of the R&B/hip hop group N-Dubz with her cousin Dappy and friend Fazer, they ga ...

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...

and

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter. 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 ...

. On 12 July 2013, Fazer headlined the Yahoo! stage at the Yahoo!

Wireless Festival ''Wireless'' Festival is an annual rap and hip-hop music festival that takes place in London, England, which is owned and managed by Live Nation Entertainment, Live Nation. Debuting in 2005, the festival's earlier years primarily featured rock an ...

, 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, Rawson released his single "Fireflies" which features vocals by Tom Parker of

The Wanted The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band formed in 2009, and originally consisted of members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker, and Nathan Sykes. The group signed a worldwide contract to Universal Music, Island Reco ...

. 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

's cousin. The pair were in a relationship from mid-2010 until February 2012, when they broke up during a holiday together. 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. On 19 February 2023, Rawson revealed on his Instagram, that his partner had given birth to twins.

Discography

Singles

Production and writing credits

Tulisa Tula Paulinea Contostavlos (; born 13 July 1988), known professionally as Tulisa, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, and television personality. As a part of the R&B/hip hop group N-Dubz with her cousin Dappy and friend Fazer, they ga ...
- ''
The Female Boss ''The Female Boss'' is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter and N-Dubz member Tulisa. It was initially released in Ireland on 30 November 2012, and released in the UK on 3 December 2012 via All Around the World and Island Recor ...
''

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

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter. 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 ...
- '' Alive''

*16. "Magnetic"

Tulisa Tula Paulinea Contostavlos (; born 13 July 1988), known professionally as Tulisa, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, and television personality. As a part of the R&B/hip hop group N-Dubz with her cousin Dappy and friend Fazer, they ga ...
- ''Non-album Single''

*01. "Living Without You"

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...
- ''
Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...
''

*10. "Lost"

Music videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fazer 1987 births Living people Black British male rappers British male rappers 21st-century male rappers English people of Jamaican descent People from Camden Town Rappers from the London Borough of Camden