Skinnyman (born Alexander Graham Holland, 9 November 1974) is a British rapper who was born in Chapeltown Leeds, Yorkshire and moved to Finsbury Park, London at a young age. He grew up on the Six Acres Estate next to Andover Estate. Among his friends was fellow Leeds-born, London-raised Cornwall DJ Pat Mckay. He formed the Mud Family with Mongo and Chester P, a group which released a number of EPs. These included such records as "Itchy Town" and "Lash Suttin", a reworking of Redman's "Smash Something". Later Mr. Ti2bs, Uncle Festa and more joined the group. Skinnyman released a solo album, Council Estate of Mind in 2004. He appeared in the first episode of Tower Block Dreams, a 2004 documentary series on BBC Three which looked into the underground music scene in council estates. He also played a small part in the 2005 interactive TV series Dubplate Drama.

2004: Council Estate of Mind

Council Estate of Mind was released on Low Life Records in 2004, shortly before Skinnyman was again incarcerated. It spent two weeks in the official album chart, with a peak position of number 65. Skinnyman claimed in a 2019 interview with The Face to have "never been paid a penny to this day from Council Estate of Mind." Notably many samples on the album are taken from the 1982 television play Made in Britain.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles and EPs

Guest appearances