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Interviews,
Music
The majority of us were introduced to
Naughty Boy's sounds a few years before we ever caught a glimpse of him. Having taught himself to make music from the shed in his parents’ garden on a Watford estate, the British producer and songwriter, real name
Shahid Khan, began furnishing homegrown rappers with beats -
Bashy, Devlin and
Tinie Tempah among them - before connecting with a then little-known Scottish singer,
Emeli Sandé.
Their chance meeting led to an engaging musical partnership that resulted in him producing and co-writing all tracks, bar five, on her multi-platinum selling debut
Our Version Of Events, which became the UK’s best-selling album of 2012. 18 months on and Naughty Boy’s own album,
Hotel Cabana, debuted at number two this summer, tugging Khan to the forefront.
On a mission to delve into the character of the man behind the hits, SoulCulture sat down with Naughty Boy over a tasty curry in Covent Garden to discuss developing his craft, learning from Emeli Sandé, avoiding the industry, growth of the UK music scene and adjusting to prominence.
Returning to the frontline and ready to offer up some of her signature sound, Alicia Keys puts out her RCA Records debut Girl On Fire. Her fifth studio album overall, it’s the first time she’s released any new material since 2009’s Element of Freedom. With her marriage to producer Swizz Beatz and the birth of their first son, Egypt, part reason for the delay, there’s also been a shift in record labels, some sneaker designing, and a bit of charity work thrown in to the mix for good measure. Refocusing her energies on the music, her most recent ongoing promotional campaign has seen her very much stroll back in to the limelight, and to a good reception.
After years of working her way up through the UK's underground music scene, building her reputation via high-profile collaborations with the likes of Wiley, Chipmunk, Tinie Tempah, Professor Green and Devlin, Glaswegian singer-songwriter Emeli Sande finally released her massively anticipated debut album Our Version of Events.
