Estelle

Estelle Fanta Swaray was born on 18 January 1980 in West London, the second of nine children in a strict religious household with a Senegalese mother and Grenadian father, growing up exposed to African and gospel music in her mother's church choir alongside reggae, dub and hip-hop.

Estelle rose from a local West London MC to release her acclaimed 2004 debut album The 18th Day, building a reputation for a genre-crossing sound spanning soul, R&B, hip-hop, grime and reggae that resisted easy categorisation throughout her career.

Estelle achieved international stardom with her 2008 album Shine and its lead single 'American Boy', a collaboration with Kanye West and will.i.am that topped the UK singles chart and reached the Billboard Hot 100 top ten in the United States.

'American Boy' won the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2009 and received a nomination for Song of the Year, cementing Estelle's international breakthrough; she followed with the albums All of Me, True Romance, which featured the Empire soundtrack hit 'Conqueror', and the reggae-influenced Lovers Rock.

Beyond music, Estelle voiced the character Garnet in the acclaimed animated series Steven Universe, and has continued releasing new music and remixes, including a 2024 re-release of 'American Boy', while maintaining her reputation as a respected curator and tastemaker across multiple genres.