Slowthai

Tyron Kaymone Frampton (born 18 December 1994), better known by his stage name Slowthai (stylised in lowercase), is a British rapper. Raised in Northampton, he rose to popularity in 2019 for his gritty and rough instrumentals and raw, politically charged lyrics, especially around Brexit and Theresa May's tenure as British prime minister. Slowthai placed fourth in the BBC Sound of 2019 and followed up in the same year with his debut studio album, '' Nothing Great About Britain.'' The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize; at Slowthai's 2019 Mercury Prize ceremony performance, he held a fake severed head of British prime minister Boris Johnson on stage, prompting controversy. Ensuing years saw the releases of his second and third studio albums, '' Tyron'' (2021) and '' Ugly'' (2023).

Early life

Tyron Kaymone Frampton was born on 18 December 1994 in Northampton to Gaynor, a teenage mother who is half- Barbadian. Frampton, his sister, and his brother were raised by their single mother in a council estate in the Lings area of Northampton. His younger brother Michael died shortly after his first birthday, which greatly affected Frampton. Frampton attended Northampton Academy and in 2011 attended Northampton College, where he studied for a BTEC in Music Technology. Frampton has ADHD and frequently skipped school during his years at Northampton Academy, often spending time at a nearby underground "recording studio" at his friend's house, only stopping when his mother was forced to attend a compulsory court hearing. After college, Frampton had multiple short stints in employment, working as a labourer, a plasterer, and at a branch of Next before being fired for breach of contract after he gave his friend employee discounts.

Career

2016–2019: Beginnings and ''Nothing Great About Britain''

The name Slowthai originates from his childhood nickname given to him due to his slow speech and drawled tone: "slow ty". In 2016, he released his break-out single, "Jiggle", produced by Sammy Byrne.

In 2017, Slowthai partnered up with indie record label Bone Soda to release his ''I Wish I Knew'' EP, "Murder" and "T n Biscuits". Later in the same year, Slowthai signed his recording contract with Method Records and since has released his ''Runt'' EP and debut studio album, '' Nothing Great About Britain'', which peaked at number 9 on the Official Charts on the week of release.

In addition to being included in the BBC's Sound of 2019 poll and ''NMEs NME 100 list, Slowthai as well received acclaim from publications such as '' DIY'', Vevo and '' Metro''. Alongside that, his debut album was shortlisted for a Mercury Music Prize, losing to Dave's ''Psychodrama''.

Slowthai contributed additional, uncredited vocals on the song "What's Good" from Tyler, the Creator's album '' Igor''. He is also featured on "Heaven Belongs to You" from Brockhampton's album ''Ginger'' and later joined their HBTY North American tour in 2019 as the special guest.

2020–2021: ''Tyron''

In January 2020, Slowthai was featured alongside UK punk band Slaves on Gorillaz's single " Momentary Bliss". The single was the first "episode" of their ''Song Machine'' project.

On 12 February 2020, after winning the Hero of the Year award at the NME Awards, Slowthai made sexual comments about host Katherine Ryan. After audience members began shouting at him, Slowthai dropped his microphone into the crowd, which was then thrown back at him along with a drink. Slowthai then threw his own drink and jumped into the crowd. Slowthai has since apologised, while Ryan has said the situation was taken the wrong way.

On 10 May 2020, Slowthai released the single "Enemy". On 13 May 2020, Slowthai released the single "Magic" with producer Kenny Beats. The following day, on 14 May 2020, Slowthai released the single "BB (Bodybag)".

On 15 September 2020, Slowthai released the single "Feel Away" featuring James Blake and Mount Kimbie. The song was said to be a tribute to his brother, for the anniversary of his death. On 19 November, Slowthai released the single "nhs" alongside a tracklist for his album '' Tyron'', releasing 5 February 2021, which was then delayed a week, and planned to release 12 February 2021. On 18 December 2020, Slowthai released "Thoughts" as a non-album single, along with a lyric video that featured local police responding to a complaint of a social gathering. On 5 January 2021, Slowthai released "Mazza", a single featuring A$AP Rocky. On 9 February 2021, Slowthai released "Cancelled", a single featuring Skepta. On 12 February 2021, Slowthai released the album '' Tyron'', which has features including Skepta, Dominic Fike, James Blake, A$AP Rocky and Denzel Curry.

2022–present: ''Ugly''

On 9 November 2022, Slowthai released "I Know Nothing". On 25 January 2023, Slowthai released the single "Selfish" and announced his new album, '' UGLY'', which was released on 3 March 2023. ''UGLY'' is an acronym which stands for "U Gotta Love Yourself".

Personal life

Slowthai is a supporter of his hometown football team Northampton Town, with parts of the music video for "Gorgeous" having been filmed at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium. He has also stated that he supports Liverpool F.C.

In 2020, Slowthai became engaged to Russian singer and model , former member of the Russian girl group Serebro. On 18 June 2021, Kischuk gave birth to their son. Slowthai and Kischuk broke up in 2022.

In a February 2023 ''Rolling Stone'' interview, Slowthai confirmed his relationship with British singer Anne-Marie, whom he began dating in early 2022. In 2024, it was revealed that the couple had secretly married in July 2022 in Las Vegas. In February 2024, Anne-Marie gave birth to their daughter. In April 2025, she gave birth to their son.

Legal issues

On 15 May 2023, Slowthai was charged with two counts of rape relating to an incident alleged to have happened in September 2021. Following the charges, he denied the allegations in a statement, which read: "Regarding the allegations being reported about me. I categorically deny the charges. I am innocent and I am confident my name will be cleared." On 15 June, Slowthai appeared at Oxford Crown Court alongside co-defendant Alex Blake-Walker. He pleaded not guilty to both charges. The trial was set to begin on 1 July 2024. However, the proceedings were delayed and a new date was set for 25 November 2024. The trial was estimated to last for two to three weeks.

Trial

The trial began on 25 November 2024 at Oxford Crown Court. The jury of twelve jurors, eight men and four women, was sworn in on the same day.

On 26 November, the opening remarks were given by the prosecution and the defence. Heather Stangoe, prosecuting, told the court that the defendants allegedly raped two women on a rooftop, "high-fived, discussed 'tag teams' and contemplated swapping the girls." Ms Stangoe alleged that Blake-Walker raped one of the women while being encouraged by Frampton, and that Frampton raped the other one while being encouraged by his co-defendant. Their actions led to them being jointly charged with oral and vaginal rape. Blake-Walker was additionally charged with sexual assault. Patrick Gibbs KC, defending Frampton, told the jury that the sexual activity between Frampton and one of the women was consensual, and that the case was about "willingly participating in something that is spontaneous and chaotic and in the excitement of the intoxication of the moment and on the other hand regretting it afterwards". He also mentioned the effect of celebrity.

On 11 December, both the prosecution and the defence delivered their closing remarks. During his statement, Gibbs highlighted "a dozen problems" with the prosecution's case, while Sheryl Nwosu, defending Blake-Walker, questioned the reliability of the testimony provided by one of the complainants. On 12 December, following a two-week trial, the jury retired to consider their verdicts.

On 16 December, Slowthai and Blake-Walker were found not guilty of three joint counts of rape, while Blake-Walker was also found not guilty of one count of sexual assault.

Musical style

His music has been categorised as grime and hip hop. He often includes elements of punk rock, leading to the categorisation of grime-punk. In a 2019 article for the BBC, Kev Geoghegan described him as "either a grime MC making punk music or a punk making rap music". In an article for Vice Media, Niloufar Haidari described his music as "caustically witty bars over abrasive beats that blend grime, trap, Soundcloud rap and even punk and screamo".

He has cited as musical influences Gesaffelstein, Juelz Santana, Elliott Smith, Radiohead, Nirvana, Mount Kimbie, Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, Jay-Z, Sex Pistols, Justice, Oasis and Die Antwoord.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Notes

* Appears on the deluxe edition of ''Nothing Great About Britain'' only.
* "The Bottom" and "North Nights" were released as a double A-side.

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Guest appearances

Tours

Headlining

* Slowthai's Circus Tour (2018)
* Brexit Bandit Tour (2019)
* 99p Tour (2019)
* Bet Ya a £5er Tour (2019)
* Coming To America Tour (2019)
* Something To Look Forward To Tour (2021)
* Hell Is Home Tour (2022)
* Antisocial Roadshow (2022)
* Ugly Tour (2023; cancelled)

Supporting

* Dave - Psychodrama Tour (2019)
* Brockhampton - Heaven Belongs To You Tour (2019)
* Suicideboys - Grey Day Tour (2021)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{Authority control

1994 births
Living people
English hip-hop musicians
English male rappers
21st-century male rappers
21st-century British rappers
English people of Barbadian descent
English people of Irish descent
Musicians from Northampton
People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
People acquitted of rape
Grime music artists
Punk rappers