Estelle

Able to rap, sing, and write songs that have everyone from John Legend to Roots Manuva singing her praises, U.K. MC Estelle got her start in London's renowned hip-hop record store Deal Real. Her fellow employees encouraged her to take a chance and get on the mike on-stage; soon she was playing numerous London clubs and appearing with the likes of Manuva and Rodney P. Local hero Skitz asked her to appear on his 2000 album, Countryman, and soon she landed on albums by the likes of the 57th Dynasty and Blak Twang. She made her solo debut in 2003 with the Excuse Me 12" on the Paradise Isle label, but her breakthrough track came in 2004 when 1980 was released by the V2 label. A street-level mixtape series called Da Heat and further 12"s like Free and Go Gone helped build a loyal following, and Estelle gave back to the U.K. hip-hop scene by forming her own Stellarents label to sign new artists. Late in 2004 V2 released her debut album, The 18th Day, which made a big impact in the U.K. In 2007 U.S. R&B singer John Legend announced that Estelle would be the first signee to his Homeschool label, distributed by Atlantic. Her sophomore album, Shine, was released in April 2008.