''The Signature LP'' is the second studio album by British rapper

Sway DaSafo Derek Andrew Safo (born 5 September 1982), better known by his stage name Sway or Sway DaSafo, is a British rapper of Ghanaian descent. He is also a producer, having established Dcypha Productions, signed to Island/Universal (label founder). ...

, released on 5 October 2008. Most of the album was produced by Sway with his Dcypha Productions team; other producers included

Louis Gibzen Louis Gibzen (born Louis Gibson Hurndall), is a British hip-hop/electro record producer of Barbadian descent. He was raised in Middleton, Greater Manchester, and is known as a promising upcoming producer throughout the UK. He produced the record ...

, Guy Katsav and

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 ...

Background

Plans for Sway's second album were made from the outset of his career. It was originally planned to be called ''This Is My Album'', continuing with the ''This Is My...'' series which Sway had used for the titles of his first mixtapes and debut album. It was originally scheduled to be released on 5 May 2008 but was pushed back to 5 October 2008 to accommodate "Silver and Gold" featuring

. Sway released a free mixtape, titled ''The Signature Mixtape'', to coincide with the album's release. During the production of the album, Sway was affected by the deaths of close friends and family, to whom he dedicated the album to and mentioned in several tracks including "Pray 4 Kaya" which is dedicated Kaya Bousquet who died in early 2008. The first single release from the album was "F Ur X", featuring $tush. The video for the song was released in May 2008. The music video features actors from ''

Kidulthood ''Kidulthood'' (stylised known as ''KiDULTHOOD'') is a 2006 British teen crime drama film directed by Menhaj Huda from a screenplay by Noel Clarke. It stars Aml Ameen, Red Madrell, Adam Deacon, Jaime Winstone, Femi Oyeniran, Madeleine Fairley, ...

'' and ''

Adulthood An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

'' and also includes Ashley Walters,

Bashy Ashley Thomas (born 4 February 1985), also known by the stage name Bashy, is a British actor and rapper. Early life Thomas was born in Hammersmith, West London. His mother is of Jamaican heritage and his father is of Dominican heritage. He att ...

and also

Chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of subtribe Tamiina. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks are classified as four genera: '' ...

. The second single was " Saturday Night Hustle", featuring soul singer

Lemar Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), known mononymously as Lemar, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially rising to fame after finishing third on the Fame Academy (series 1), first series of British talent show ''Fame Acade ...

. The third single was "Silver & Gold" featuring

which peaked at 67. A video was made for the single which features a cameo appearance from the footballer El Hadj Diouf. ''The Signature LP'' reached number 51 in the charts in the week after release.

Production

Production of tracks for the album commenced in 2006 upon the release of ''This Is My Demo''. Like his debut album, many of the tracks were produced by Sway himself as part of his

DCypha Productions Dcypha Productions (sometimes credited as Dcypha Records or simply just Dcypha) is a UK-based production group founded by Sway and established under Akon's Konvict Records. Background Sway established Dcypha Productions, in 2004, to enable ...

group. Sway was the executive producer with the co-executive producers being DJ Turkish, Bommer, Cheifer, Stowne and Daniel Goldberg. It was mastered by Naweed at Whitfield Mastering London. The album cover art and booklet was designed by Barrie Bee using photography from Alex Lake. "Fit 4 A King" was produced and written by Sway with additional production and drum programming by Raptor for DCypha. It featured the London Studio Orchestra who performed at

Angel Recording Studios Angel Recording Studios Limited (also referred to as Angel Studios) is a British recording studio based in the eponymous recording and mixing complex in Islington, London. The company was incorporated by James Warren Sylvester de Wolfe on 5 Dec ...

for the track. The track featured additional vocals from Kadija Kamara, Tijani Aminu, Paul Cellantas and Kevin Tuffy who were all recorded at Soho Recording Studios. These were mixed by Guy Katsav at the Gaffe Studios. "Say It Twice" was written by Sway and produced by DJ Turkish at Soho Recording Studios. " Saturday Night Hustle" involved the vocals of Lemar, who was recorded at Olympic Recording Studios, and Sewuese, who was recorded at Soho Recording Studios, as well as Sway, who was recorded at

Apollo 440 Apollo 440 (also known as Apollo Four Forty or @440) are an English electronic music group formed in Liverpool in 1990. The group have written, recorded and produced five studio albums, collaborated with and produced other artists, remixed as ...

's Apollo Control Studios by Ashley Krajewski. The track, produced by Shux, was an adaptation of "

Saturday Love "Saturday Love" is a song performed by American R&B singers Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal. The song was written and produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and was released in October 1985. It peaked at No. 2 on the US R&B chart and became a mo ...

" by

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and

Cherrelle Cheryl Anne Norton (born October 13, 1958), better known by her stage name Cherrelle, is an American R&B singer and songwriter who gained fame in the mid-1980s. Her signature hits include " I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", "Where Do I Run To", " ...

. This was also mixed Guy Katsav. "Silver & Gold" was produced by Sway,

and Giorgio Tuinfort, and mixed by Mark Goodchild on Akon's tour bus. "F UR X" was produced by Sway and Youngster of DDSS Productions and mixed at The Gaffe Studios by DJ Turkish and Guy Katsav. "Jason Waste" was produced by Sway and featured the vocals of Ellen King. It was recorded and mixed by Joe Fields and Ashley Krajewski at Soho Recording Studios and Apollo Control Studios, respectively. "Look After My Girl" was produced by both Sway and Emile with mixing done by Guy Katsav and DJ Turkish at The Gaffe Studios. "Pray 4 Kaya" was produced by Sway along with Akon and Giorgio Tuinfort. The vocals were recorded at Soho Recording Studios whilst additional mixing and recording was done at Cruise Control Studios in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. "Walk Away" was produced by Sway and DCypha member Silverstone. All instruments were performed by Silverstone who also provided the additional vocals for the track along with Father Noah and Anis Halloway. "Upload" was produced by

Terror Danjah Rodney Pryce (17 August 1979 – 10 February 2025), better known by his stage name Terror Danjah, was an English record producer, DJ, songwriter and label manager from Forest Gate, London. As the co-founder of the grime record label and musical ...

, who produced "Download" off ''This Is My Demo'', and

Scratcha DVA Scratcha DVA also known as DJ Scratcha, DVA i; Emotions Scratchclart and DVA is a British electronic musician, producer and DJ often associated with DVA Music, Hyperdub and Rinse FM. His debut album, ''Pretty Ugly (Scratcha DVA album), Prett ...

. The track was mixed by Sway and Guy Katsav at the Soho Recording Studios. "Stereo" was produced by both Sway and Chops at the Soho Recording Studios. "Letters To Heaven" was produced mainly by

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 ...

with additional arrangement by Sway. The track features the vocals of Leo and Puffy, partly to whom the song is dedicated due to his death prior to the completion of the song. The instruments on the track were performed by The Nextmen and the London Studio Orchestra at Angel Recording Studios. "End of the Road" was written by Sway with Marie Pelisser and Coco and produced by Louis Gibzen. It was mixed by Guy Katsav at The Gaffe Studios. "Special Place" was produced by Sway with additional mixing by Guy Katsav. The keys were performed by Jason Silver, bass guitar by Amadu Koroma, electric guitar by Adam Sosner, percussion by Juba, saxophone by Yolonda Brown and orchestra strings by the London Studio Orchestra. "Taxi" was a bonus track produced by Sway and Guy Katsav at The Gaffe Studios. It features the vocals of Christina Taylor. "My Kind of Girl" was produced by Sway and mixed by Guy Katsav. Further work was done by Joe Fields and Kevin Tuffy at the Soho Recording Studios.

Track listing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Signature, The Sway (musician) albums 2008 albums Albums produced by Akon Albums produced by Al Shux