Rizzle Kicks
Rizzle Kicks | |
---|---|
May Ball, 2012 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Brighton, England |
Genres |
|
Instrument(s) | |
Years active | 2008–2015 |
Labels | Island |
Members | Jordan Stephens Harley Alexander-Sule |
Website | rizzlekicks |
Rizzle Kicks were a British
Since 2015, Alexander-Sule has released music under the stage name Jimi Charles Moody, and since 2016, Stephens has released music under the stage names Wildhood and Al, the Native, as well as under his own name.[2]
History
2006–2011: Formation and career beginnings
In 2006, Stephens began attending rap and performance workshops with the Brighton-based charity AudioActive, joined a year later by Alexander-Sule. The pair attended AudioActive's Hip Hop Foundation project and Stephens continued attending workshops and performances until 2010. Stephens is quoted as saying this work helped the duo "hone our skills and build a passion towards the career that we're in now. AudioActive did us a lot of good and without them we wouldn't be here!"[3]
Stephens and Alexander-Sule both attended the BRIT School, where Stephens studied media and Alexander-Sule studied theatre. Stephens was in the process of making his mixtape Minor Breaches of Discipline where he rapped over samples of some of their favourite artists (Gorillaz, Lily Allen, Arctic Monkeys) and asked Alexander-Sule to sing over some of the tracks. Realising how well their styles fitted together, they formed Rizzle Kicks in 2008.[4] The name stems from 'Green Rizla', an early nickname given to Stephens by a football teammate after a crew of the same name from the school that he attended at the time. That nickname evolved into 'Rizzle', and the duo decided on the suffix 'kicks' due to their shared love of football.[5]
As a newly formed duo, they hustled for beats from local producers, honing their sound, and created several bedroom demos, three of which ended up on their debut album. They also created a presence online; blogging on their website "Your Daily Kicks" as well as posting lo-fi music videos to their YouTube channel.[6] The videos were co-directed by the band and made by Toby Lockerbie, a wedding photographer they met at a party. A video was made for a demo of "Down with the Trumpets" in the summer of 2010, closely followed by the video for "Miss Cigarette". During that time, they had finished college and Alexander-Sule went on to work as an assistant drama teacher, whilst Stephens was flipping burgers at the Corals Greyhound Stadium in Hove.
Their YouTube videos caught the attention of several record labels and in November 2010, they signed to
2011–2012: Stereo Typical and commercial success
In June 2011, the duo released a promotional single, "
Their first official single, "Down with the Trumpets", was released on 12 June 2011, in the manner of
The pair featured on "
In the summer of 2012, Rizzle Kicks helped to launch the 2012–13
Rizzle Kicks' played their first headline tour from March to May 2012, a sellout, including two nights at London's Shepherds Bush Empire. A second headline tour took place in winter 2012; they played 26 dates across the UK including
2013: Touring and Roaring 20s
Rizzle Kicks embarked on a US tour from January to February 2013, supporting Ed Sheeran and Foy Vance. In March, they performed alongside Labrinth at the Royal Albert Hall in March 2013 as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust shows.[12]
Rizzle Kicks announced their second studio album
On 4 December 2013, Rizzle Kicks released a new song, "Happy That You're Here", to their YouTube channel.[14]
2014–present: Different projects
On 9 May 2014, the duo headlined the May Ball at Aberystwyth University,[15] and the Summer Ball on 6 June 2014 at Royal Holloway, University of London. In April, Stephens (credited as Rizzle Kicks) rapped a verse on the remix of the grime track "German Whip" by Meridian Dan, which also featured Skepta, Bossman Birdie and Professor Green.
The duo diverisifed into acting in 2014, with Alexander-Sule appearing as a gang leader in the thriller The Guvnors[16] and Stephens starring in E4 drama series Glue, broadcast 15 September to 3 November 2014.
In 2014, Rizzle Kicks released a new single "
In 2015, the duo performed the closing theme tune to the
Stephens and Alexander-Sule have continued to make appearances in film and television. In March 2015, Alexander-Sule played Jimmy Sullivan in the ITV crime drama Unforgotten. Stephens appeared as a Rebel soldier in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, released December 2016.[21] In 2016, Stephens appeared on the second Robot Wars celebrity special. His robot Dee, a pink axlebot made in collaboration with the Terrorhurtz drivers, lost two of its fights by knockout but won the third by a split decision. In 2018, Stephens starred alongside Derren Nesbitt in Tucked, a film about a young drag queen taken in by an older drag queen who is dying of cancer. In 2021, Stephens had a recurring role in the second series of Mae Martin's sitcom Feel Good on Netflix.
Stephens has released music under the stage name Wildhood, and released his debut solo EP Vert on 16 March 2016 following the singles "Psycho Jam" and "Double Dark".[22] He had previously released two collaborations with Mikill Pane; one, "Check", under the pseudonym of Gnarly Ventura, and the other, "Hold My Crown", under his real name. In April 2017, he used the stage name Al, the Native when featuring on The Last Skeptik's "Drumroll, Please".
Alexander-Sule is currently releasing music under the stage name Jimi Charles Moody, and has released several singles.[23] His debut single, Blue Honey, had over ninety thousand plays on SoundCloud in its first month.[24] That song, as well as singles Other Man, Death Row and The Woman have over fifty thousand SoundCloud plays.[25] His song House of Moody was featured in a Lexus ad and also the Madden NFL 16 soundtrack.[26]
Discography
- Stereo Typical (2011)
- Roaring 20s (2013)
References
- ^ "Celebrity Juice Series 7, Episode 13, Part 1 of 3 Pop Special with Keith Lemon". YouTube. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ "Jordan Stephens announces debut solo album with Miraa May collaboration "Big Bad Mood"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ Stephens, Jordan. "AudioActive website". Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- ^ Rizzle Kicks. "Biography www.rizzlekicks.com/". Rizzle Kicks. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ Music. "Rizzle Kicks Interview". PyroMag.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- ^ Rizzle Kicks (21 October 2011). "YouTube and the modern road to stardom/". London: Independent. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ^ "BIGGGGGG UPPPPPPP STEPHEN FRY!!!". Rizzle Kicks. 1 July 2012. Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "Rizzle Kicks – Down With The Trumpets". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ "Olly Murs teases new single 'Heart Skips A Beat' – Music News". Digital Spy. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ "Rizzle Kicks –Interview". The Hits Radio. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
- ^ "Rizzle Kicks onstage underwear antics –Interview". 4music. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ^ "Rizzle Kicks and Labrinth play Royal Albert Hall Teenage Cancer Trust show". teenagecancertrust.org. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ^ Daniels, Colin (3 July 2012). "Fatboy Slim, Rizzle Kicks to re-team". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ^ "Rizzle Kicks – Happy That You're Here (Christmas Song)". YouTube. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ "Artists". Abersu.co.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ "Rizzle Kicks' Jordan Talk About Harley's Role In New Movie Meet The Guvnors – Audio". Capital. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ Griggs, Ian. "Maria Sharapova stars in Rizzle Kicks Evian Wimbledon video". Campaign. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ "The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night". Channel 4.
- ^ "Shaun the Sheep Movie – Life's a Treat". YouTube. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "DJ Jazzy Jeff's Summertime Anthem Gets a Stylish Update from Rizzle Kicks | LBBOnline". www.lbbonline.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ "Rogue One features a sly cameo and it's not exactly Daniel Craig". Independent.co.uk. 17 December 2016.
- ^ Morgan, Clive (17 March 2016). "Rizzle Kicks' Jordan Stephens goes it alone and premieres Wildhood's Vert EP: exclusive". The Telegraph.
- ^ "Jimi Charles Moody: Video premiere for 'House of Moody'". The Independent. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ "PREMIERE: Jimi Charles Moody – "The Other Man" | NOISEY". NOISEY. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ "Jimi Charles Moody". SoundCloud. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ "Full soundtrack for 'Madden NFL' 16 revealed". Sporting News. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2016.