Krept and Konan

Krept and Konan
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rappers
  • singers
  • songwriters
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2009 (2009)–present
Labels
Associated acts
Members
  • Casyo "Krept" Johnson
  • Karl "Konan" Wilson

Krept and Konan are an English hip hop duo from London, consisting of Casyo "Krept" Johnson, born 4 February 1990 from Gipsy Hill[1] and Karl "Konan" Wilson, born 3 September 1989 from Thornton Heath and son of Delroy Wilson,[2] otherwise known as 'Jamaica's first child star'.[1] Their first major release was the mixtape Young Kingz and was released on 2 September 2013.[3] The duo are known for making an impact on the UK underground scene with their music, punch lines and metaphors.[4] As of 3rd of May 2013, Krept and Konan signed a record deal with Virgin EMI Records.[5]

Their debut album The Long Way Home was released on 5 July 2015 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number 2, becoming their highest-charting album.[6]

Biography

2005–10: Formation and career beginnings

In 2005, Krept and Konan met and formed a friendship, they were making music under the same aliases but were also members of the gang 'Gipset' which they were known widely for in South London. In '09 they became a musical duo and started to take music seriously.[7] Shortly after their formation, in 2010 the duo released their very first mixtape titled Redrum featuring collaborations from London underground rappers, Killa Ki, Snap and many more.[8]

2010: Tsunami

In 2010 the rap duo released their second mixtape titled Tsunami featuring several mainstream artists including Ghetts, Giggs, Scorcher and Wretch 32.

2011–2014: Young Kingz and commercial breakthrough

Main article: Young Kingz

In 2011, they released a cover of Jay-Z's and Kanye West's "Otis" which helped them rise to fame. The video reached five million views in its first five days of being uploaded to YouTube. However, with much pressure received from Jay-Z's legal team the video was removed from the duo's profile. Undeterred by the controversy, they released a cover of Drake and Lil Wayne's "The Motto", launched their own clothing line called Play Dirty and early into 2012 were invited to join the British rapper Skepta on his tour in the UK.[9] They appeared on Tinie Tempah's 2011 mixtape Happy Birthday and in 2013 they released their third mixtape Young Kingz, with features from Chip, Tinie Tempah, G FrSH, Giggs, George the Poet, Yungen, Ari, Yana Toma, Fekky, Siah and Anthony Thomas. The album's promotional single "Don't Waste My Time" rose to fame in the grime scene in January 2014, with notable artists such as French Montana, Wretch 32, Chip, G FrSH, Double S, Lady Leshurr, Yungen, Sneakbo MNEK, Dru Blu, Jacob Banks and Dot Rotten all contributing to remixes of the track. Tinie Tempah also freestyled over the beat on Charlie Sloth's Fire in the Booth.

Winning Best UK Newcomer at the 2013 MOBO Awards was one of the big breaks the duo had. With low promotion compared to other artists. They released "Don't Waste My Time" as a single in March 2014 and it entered the UK Singles Chart at number 154.

2014–present: The Long Way Home

On 29 June 2014 They attended the BET Awards which was held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California and received an award for 'Best International Act: UK' by BET International and beating Dizzee Rascal, Laura Mvula, Rita Ora, Ghetts and Tinie Tempah.

On 3 March 2015 Croydon Advertised announced the duo as the 39th most powerful people from the Croydon borough, for their pioneering movement and recent success in the music industry.[10]

On 28 March 2015, they released a video for "Certified" featuring Rick Ross. The song serves as the first promotional single from their debut album The Long Way Home.[11] The song was subsequently added to BBC Radio 1Xtra's playlists.

The lead single from The Long Way Home, "Freak of the Week", features vocals from American rapper Jeremih and was released on 28 June 2015. The song entered and peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, making it the duo's first top ten single on the chart and Jeremih's second. 25 June 2015 on YouTube a Remix of "Freak of the Week" was Published by reggae and dancehall artists Popcaan & Beenie Man. The album was released on 5 July 2015 through Virgin EMI and Def Jam, and features numerous high-profile musicians, including Ed Sheeran, Skepta, Emeli Sandé and Wiz Khalifa.

Achievements

In 2013 the rap duo broke a world record for 'Highest-Charting UK album by an Unsigned Act'. The pair earned the title with Young Kingz,which entered into the top 20 in the UK Albums Chart.[12] Following the rap duo success, they won a MOBO award (Best Hip-Hop Act 2014)[13] and BET award.

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK UK
R&B
The Long Way Home 2 1
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Mixtapes

List of mixtapes, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[15]		 UK
R&B
[16]
Red Rum
  • Released: 13 June 2009
  • Format: Digital download
 — —
Tsunami
  • Released: 1 October 2010
  • Label: Play Dirty Limited
  • Format: Digital download
 — —
Young Kingz
  • Released: 2 September 2013 (UK)[17]
  • Label: Play Dirty Limited, Virgin EMI, Def Jam
  • Format: Digital download
 19 3
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[18]		 UK
R&B
[19]
"Don't Waste My Time" 2014 154 31 Young Kingz
"Freak of the Week"
(featuring Jeremih)		 2015 9 2 The Long Way Home

As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album
"They Got It Wrong" (Remix)[20]
(Lethal Bizzle featuring Krept and Konan, Kano, Squeeks and Wiley)		 2013 Non-album singles
"Dance on My Own"[21]
(M.O featuring Krept and Konan)		 2014

Other charted songs

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[22]		 UK
R&B
[23]
"The Long Way Home"
(featuring Derrick Morgan)		 2015 — 37 The Long Way Home
"Dreams"
(featuring Ed Sheeran)		 88 22

Tours

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Title Result
2011 Official Mixtape Awards Best Mixtape 2010 Tsunami Won
2012 Best Video 2011 "Otis remix" Won
NXG Awards Best Video Won
Breakthrough Act[29] Themselves Won
2013 MOBO Awards Best UK Newcomer Won
UMA's Best Album Young Kingz Nominated
Best Group Themselves Won
Best Hip Hop Act[30] Won
BBC 1Xtra's Mixtape Awards[31] Best Group Won
Best Mixtape Young Kingz Won
2014 Guinness World Records 'Highest-Charting UK album by an Unsigned Act' Won
BET Awards 2014 Best International Act: UK Themselves Won
MOBO Awards Best hip-hop act Won
Best male act Nominated
Best song "Don't Waste My Time" Nominated
Best album Young Kingz Nominated
GRM Best of 2014[32] Lyricist of the year Themselves Won
Best Video "Don't Waste My Time" Won
2015 MTV Brand New[33] Best Newcomer 'MTV Brand New Winners 2015' Won

References

  1. 1 2 "Krept & Konan". last.fm. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  2. ↑ Phillips, Noel. "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: KREPT AND KONAN ON REMAINING RELEVANT AND WRITING A GOOD DISS website". Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Pharaoh, Samson. "Congratulations Pour in As Krept & Konan Mixtape Enters Official UK Album Charts Top 20". Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  4. ↑ Daily, Grime. "BIOGRAPHY". Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  5. ↑ Etaghene, Valentina. "Congratulations To Krept and Konan Winners of 'Best Newcomer' For Signing A Record Deal With Virgin EMI website". Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Hope, Hannah (11 July 2015). "Krept and Konan: UK rap sensations on parties, Zayn Malik and shunning dating apps". Mirror. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Hill, Dexter. "Biography website". Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  8. ↑ Recordshop, UK. "Krept & Konan – Redrum Volume 1 website". Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  9. ↑ Collins, Hattie (12 September 2013). "Krept and Konan: the secrets of Young Kingz success website".
  10. ↑ "CROYDON POWER LIST 2015: The 40 most influential people in Croydon (40–31) website". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Krept & Konan – Certified ft. Rick Ross (Lyric Video) (Pre Order #TLWH NOW ). YouTube. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "Croydon rappers Krept and Konan score one of the highest charting UK rap albums ever". Croydon Advertiser. 13 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "Krept and Konan Win Best Hip Hop Act at MOBO Awards 2014". What's Good?. 22 October 2014.
  14. ↑ "The Long Way Home by Krept and Konan". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "Krept & Konan" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "2013 Top 40 R&B Albums Archive – 14th September 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "Young Kingz by Krept and Konan". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  18. ↑ Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: New Entries Update – 5.04.2014 (wk13)". zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "2014 Top 40 R&B Singles Archive – 5th April 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "They Got It Wrong (feat. Krept & Konan, Kano, Squeeks, Wiley) – Single by Lethal Bizzle". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "Dance On My Own (feat. Krept & Konan) – Single by M.O". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  22. ↑ "Official UK Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  23. ↑ "Official UK R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  24. ↑ Derebeyli, Melek. "Skepta 'The Wedding Bells' Tour – Review website". Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  25. ↑ Blaquiere, Simon. "Krept and Konan to tour with Devlin in November". Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  26. ↑ Khan, Maz. "REVIEW: KREPT & KONAN LIVE IN LONDON website". Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  27. ↑ "Krept & Konan Set To Join Tinie Tempah For UK 's Demonstration Tour [@Kreptplaydirty @Konanplaydirty]". .bluereignmg. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  28. ↑ "Krept And Konan Announce Spring 2016 Tour Dates With Ty Dolla Sign [@Kreptplaydirty @Konanplaydirty]". .Capital XTRA. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  29. ↑ Online, NXG. "NXG Awards 2012 Winners website". Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  30. ↑ Bailey, Elise. "The spittin' duo Krept & Konan nominated for 3 UMA's!". Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  31. ↑ Semtex, DJ. "Semtex Presents 1Xtra's Mixtape Awards 2013 website". Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  32. ↑ Simionescu-Marin, Caroline. "WINNERS LIST REVEALED! #GRMBestOf2014". Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  33. ↑ UK-Marin, MTV. "Krept & Konan Crowned MTV Brand New For 2015 Winners!". Retrieved 2 February 2015.

External links

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