Mike Skinner

Michael Geoffrey Skinner (born 27 November 1979) is an English rapper, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known for the music project The Streets.

Skinner was born in Barnet, but grew up in West Heath, Birmingham. He started playing with keyboards at the age of five. When he was seven years old he began experiencing symptoms of epilepsy, which worsened in his early teens. He began writing hip hop and garage music in his home in West Heath and later built a sound booth in his bedroom, using a cupboard and a mattress. He describes his background as "Barratt class: suburban estates, not poor but not much money about, really boring".

At age 19, Skinner moved to Australia with his girlfriend; the relationship quickly ended, but Skinner stayed in Australia for a year. Upon his return to England, Skinner moved to south London. He sent a demo tape of an early version of what would become the song "Has It Come to This?" to a record shop run by A&R Nick Worthington. The song was released as a single in 2001, through Locked On Records.

The Streets (1994–2011, 2017–present)

In the albums Skinner made under the name The Streets, he focused on vocals, arranging, composing, mixing, keyboards, and synthesizers.

The Beats Recordings

In 2005, Skinner and Ted Mayhem launched the independent record label The Beats Recordings. A subsidiary of 679 Recordings, The Beats was home to British hip hop acts such as The Mitchell Brothers, Example and Professor Green. In a 2008 interview with NME, Skinner announced that the label had shut down. In 2012, Skinner stated in an interview that the label was starting up again.

The D.O.T. and Tonga Balloon Gang (2011–present)

After shelving The Streets, Skinner launched a new project, called The D.O.T, along with Rob Harvey of alternative rock band The Music. Harvey performs on vocals, allowing Skinner to "further develop his production approach". Their first album, And That, was released on 22 October 2012. Their second album titled Diary was released on 5 May 2013.

In 2013, Skinner remixed Norwich rapper Context's song "Small Town Lad Sentiments". The remix features on Context's second EP, Hindsight is the Purest Form of Romance (2014). In 2015, he remixed Slaves' breakthrough single "Cheer Up London" alongside Jammer. The remix featured on an extended play exclusive to HMV, released alongside the group's debut album Are You Satisfied?.

Skinner teamed up with UK rap group Murkage to form a supergroup named Tonga Balloon Gang, and they released an eponymous three-track EP on 14 November 2015. The release features additional vocals from Jammer and Big Narstie. In 2016, Skinner released a number of tracks on Soundcloud under the name The Darker the Shadow, The Brighter the Light. In April 2017, he released the song "Bad Decisions In The Night" on digital platforms.

Musical style

Skinner is best known for his lyricism matched with his blurring of musical styles of UK garage, hip hop, indie rock, reggae and ska. The Guardian reviewer Dave Simpson particularly praised Skinner's "dazzling wordplay."

Influences

Skinner is influenced by musical genres including hip hop, UK garage, reggae, and country and western music. Some of the many hip hop artists that influenced him in the making of some of The Streets' albums are DJ Premier and Erick Sermon.

The Inbetweeners

The soundtrack album for the film The Inbetweeners Movie was released in 2011, featuring ten new compositions by Skinner.

Beat Stevie

On 19th October 2007, the first episode of Skinner's late-night television programme, Beat Stevie, aired on Channel 4.

Acting

Skinner had a cameo role in the fifth series of Doctor Who as a security guard, featuring in the episode "The Time of Angels".

In a 2011 interview, Skinner also revealed that he would be starring in a film, a thriller set in a hospital. Adding that it won't be a "blockbuster" and that it will take around two years to complete.

In 2005, Skinner signed up to appear in a twelve-month ad campaign for Reebok's "I Am What I Am" campaign.

Skinner has always identified himself with Birmingham and he is a keen supporter of Birmingham City. He has worn the club's replica shirt on stage. He also wore it in the music video for his remix of Bloc Party's single "Banquet".

In 2008, Skinner took time off from The Streets to battle symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome and later wrote the song "Trying to Kill M.E." to document his fight against the disorder. In addition, he has tried to raise awareness that "it's not just depression. That's what people tend to think". Another statement he has released on the topic: "I was incapacitated. It seems to have faded now. But at the time I think I was working too hard. It was important to just mention it really. It was such a big thing for me. It lasted about a year at its worst. I had to stop working."

In 2010, Skinner married Claire Le Marquand in Antibes after the birth of their daughter Amelia in 2009. Skinner attributes the turnaround of his lifestyle, in regards to his dabbling with drugs, to the birth of his daughter and the responsibility of being a father.

The Streets

• Original Pirate Material (2002)
• A Grand Don't Come for Free (2004)
• The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living (2006)
• Everything Is Borrowed (2008)
• Computers and Blues (2011)

The D.O.T

• And That (2012)
• Diary (2013)

The Darker the Shadow The Brighter the Light

• Soundcloud Release (2017)

• The Story of The Streets. London: Bantam Press, 2012. By Mike Skinner. 304 pages. ISBN 978-0593068076. Biography recording his beginnings as a musician in the Birmingham suburbs in the garage scene, to his struggles as a commercial musician.