Lowkey (born Kareem Dennis 23 May 1986) is a Poet, Playwright, Political Activist and award winning Hip Hop Artist of mixed British and Arab descent who has received airplay on numerous major radio stations including BBC Radio 1, 95.8 Capital FM, Kiss 100, Choice FM, BBC 1Xtra and BBC Asian Network and toured internationally, performing to crowds everywhere from Glastonbury and Trafalgar Square to Germany and Amsterdam.

Background

Lowkey was born to mixed heritage, his father being British from Dover, while his mother is an Iraqi born in Baghdad. He began attending the open mic sessions which took place at the Deal Real record shop on Carnaby Street, Central London. The first time he went he introduced himself as Lowkey and was told there was already a regular there by that name; the two had a battle rap over the use of the name which Lowkey won. It was at Deal Real that he met Doc Brown, who invited him to feature on his first notable single 'Donnie's Lament', a song which was based on the film Donnie Darko.

Career

The success of 'Donnie's Lament (Mad World Remix)', which was played on Capital FM and Radio One led to a mixtape entitled Key To The Game Vol 1, released independently in 2003. Within a year and a half he had released a second and third volume, all of which gained critical acclaim from UK hip hop circles. Despite releasing the third mixtape in 2005, it would be another three years until he released his album proper preferring instead to explore other aspects of his career until then.

In July 2008 the Theatre Royal, Bath put on a production of 'Max and Beth', a contemporary adaptation of Macbeth by William Shakespeare written entirely in rhyme.

Collaborations

He joined a hip-hop group called Poisonous Poets that released one mixtape (Poisonous Poetry). Poisonous Poets a.k.a Double P was founded by Doc Brown, Reveal, Tony D and Therapist. He is part of another group called Catch 22 created by Kool G Rap. Lowkey also records duets with Logic as part of their non-profit organisation The People's Army, aimed at raising awareness of infant fighting in Israel and Palestine. His work with Logic saw the pair record a song exclusively for the NSPCC, in support of their "Don't Hide It" campaign.

In 2008 news broke of a supergroup that had been created with Jon McClure of the band Reverend and The Makers. Also in the band is Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders and ex-bassist Andy Nicholson alongside bassist of Babyshambles Drew McConnell and a revolving set of other musicians. They have had trouble coordinating their busy careers to perform live dates and their debut album has already been pushed back from October to some time in early 2009 along with a February tour.

Lowkey's highly anticipated (100% independent) album: Soundtrack To The Struggle is estimated to hit the streets in January 2011.
(from the wiki-page biog of Lowkey)

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