Professor Green

Born Stephen Paul Manderson in 1983, London MC Professor Green began to rap as a way of processing trauma. He was raised in Hackney by his great-grandmother (who passed away when he was a teenager) and his father died by suicide when the burgeoning rapper was in his 20s. He’s since poured his heart into his work, churning out underground mixtapes like 2006’s Lecture #1, which was released by The Streets’ Mike Skinner’s The Beats record label. But after 2013’s Growing Up In Public, the emotional toll of speaking his truth took Green out of the game—until he triumphantly reemerged in 2019 with the stellar M.O.T.H EP. “I disappeared in the studio for two years, but now I’m back and song rich,” the MC explained to Apple Music. With his uncanny ability to channel his personal tragedies into relatable tracks, Professor Green’s second act has shown as much promise as his first.