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Ty

One of the UK's most adventurous rappers
"I'm probably more disobedient with regards to what is acceptable for a hip-hop artist to do," Ty once remarked to The Independent, "but I don't know whether that should be titled with the word alternative. I hate that word." Whatever he thinks he is, the South Londoner has cemented an enviable reputation as one of the most thoughtful and poetic of British rappers - indeed, one of his four albums, 2003's Upwards, snagged the ears of the nomination-declaring Mercury Prize panel. His list of acolytes (including Damon Albarn and Lily Allen) is only overshadowed by the queue of his collaborators - people like De La Soul, Arrested Development, Blak Twang and the Scratch Perverts, as well as Afrobeat king Tony Allen, lover's rock legend Carroll Thompson and jazzer Soweto Kinch. Patrolling such a varied musical landscape shouldn't be seen as disobedient. It's merely the sign of a keen, inquisitive mind.
(Biography written by Nige Tassell 2010)