Labrinth
Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989),[1] better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Labrinth signed as a recording artist with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Music in 2010, initially collaborating with the English rapper Tinie Tempah. He appeared as a featured artist: uncredited on the single "Pass Out", but later officially on "Frisky"; then he released his first solo single, "Let the Sun Shine" in September. All three songs peaked in the top five on the UK Singles Chart.[2]
For the maze-like structure, see Labyrinth. For other uses, see Labyrinth (disambiguation).
His debut album, Electronic Earth (2012), peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and spawned four top five singles there. The single "Beneath Your Beautiful" became his first song to reach the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one in the United Kingdom, also receiving a nomination for Best British Single at the Brit Awards. In November 2014, he released the single "Jealous", which was later certified Platinum in the UK.
In 2018, Labrinth formed the supergroup LSD with Australian singer Sia and American DJ and producer Diplo. The group released their self-titled debut album the following year. Also in 2019, in October, he composed the Season 1 Official Score for the HBO drama series Euphoria; it received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning one for the single "All for Us". His second album, Imagination & the Misfit Kid, followed in November.
Labrinth continued composing for Euphoria in 2022, and the Season 2 Official Score was released in April. The score earned him an additional two Primetime Emmy nominations, for the songs "I'm Tired" and "Elliot's Song", both written alongside Zendaya.
He has been referred to as "one of the most important British musicians of his generation".[3] Labrinth has worked with numerous artists as a songwriter and producer including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Kanye West, and the Weeknd. His production work on the Weeknd's album Beauty Behind the Madness earned him a Grammy Award for Album of the Year nomination. He also co-produced the soundtrack The Lion King: The Gift, and co-wrote the single "Spirit", alongside Beyoncé and Ilya Salmanzadeh, for which he received nominations at the Grammy Awards,[4] Golden Globe Awards, and the Critics' Choice Movie Awards.
Early life[edit]
McKenzie was born and raised in Hackney, London, and is of Jamaican descent.[5] He comes from a family of musicians and has eight siblings. Their home was filled with the sound of black gospel music, which their parents loved.[6] When young, he and his eight siblings formed a band called Mac 9.[7] He attended Stoke Newington School and began to pursue a musical career during his school years. His brother, Mac, who is also a music producer, introduced McKenzie at the age of 15 to the art of creating music in his studio. His cousin is the Irish boxer Tommy McCarthy.[8]
Career[edit]
2009–2010: Career beginnings[edit]
Labrinth started his career by producing the track "Dead End" for recording artist Master Shortie from the album A.D.H.D. (2009). The track generated interest in McKenzie as a producer and songwriter. Guy Moot of EMI Music Publishing offered the artist a publishing deal. From 2010 to 2011, Labrinth mentored the Urban Development Vocal Collective (UDVC) alongside his sister, ShezAr. He also produced multiple tracks for the collective, contributing towards a nine-track project titled Urban Development. The vocalists also provided backing vocals for Labrinth's original tracks.[9][10][11]
McKenzie appeared as an uncredited guest artist on British rapper Tinie Tempah's debut single, "Pass Out", released on 28 February 2010. He had also produced and co-written the track. The single debuted at number-one on the UK Singles Chart, number six on the Irish Singles Chart, and number seventy in Australia.[2][12] Having spent two weeks at the summit in the United Kingdom, "Pass Out" was awarded Best British Single at the 2011 Brit Awards and Best Contemporary Song at the 2011 Ivor Novello Awards. It achieved platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry for surpassing sales of 600,000 copies.[13] Several months later the two artists collaborated for a second time in the release of Tempah's second single, "Frisky", also co-written and produced by McKenzie. The single debuted at number two in the United Kingdom,[2] beaten only by the charity single "Shout" by Dizzee Rascal and James Corden.[14] The track had chart success in Scotland, where it became the duo's second consecutive number one single, also peaking at number three in Ireland.[12]
Throughout 2010, McKenzie continued writing material for a number of high-profile artists, including Professor Green for the track "Oh My God" (Alive Till I'm Dead), Ola Svensson for the track "Let It Hit You" (Ola), and Loick Essien for "Love Drunk" (Identity).
2010–2012: Signing to Syco and Electronic Earth[edit]
Following chart success as a writer and producer, McKenzie was approached in June 2010 and signed to Simon Cowell's record label, Syco. The signing marked a milestone for the label, with McKenzie becoming the first signing in six years who had not gained exposure on one of Cowell's reality talent shows. Through Syco, Labrinth released his debut single, "Let the Sun Shine", on 27 September 2010 in the United Kingdom. The track debuted at number three in the UK, also reaching number thirty-two in Ireland.[12] Labrinth was featured as an artist a third time on 3 January 2011, with the release of British rapper Devlin's single "Let It Go". This had limited chart success, peaking at number fifty-nine in the UK. He also participated in a remake of Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band's "Express Yourself".[2]
Over the course of the next year, Labrinth produced tracks by Yasmin and Ms. Dynamite, as well as the 2011 Children in Need charity single “Teardropâ€, on which he also appeared as a guest performer.[15][16] The single, which was performed both at Children in Need 2011 and Children in Need Rocks Manchester on 17 November 2011 debuted at number twenty-four on the UK Singles Chart.[17]
Labrinth released his second single, "Earthquake", on 23 October 2011 – featuring long-term collaborator Tinie Tempah. The single debuted at number two on the UK chart with first week sales of 115,530 copies – the second highest selling number-two behind X Factor winners Little Mix and their cover of Damien Rice's "Cannonball".[2] The track also saw international chart success, peaking at number twelve in Ireland,[12] number five in New Zealand and number twenty-one in Australia;[18] achieving gold certification from the Australian Recording Industry Association and platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Following a third single release, "Last Time", which was released on 18 March 2012 as a four-track digital EP alongside remixes from Knife Party and Gareth Emery, Labrinth released his debut album Electronic Earth on 2 April 2012.[19][20]
On 23 May 2012, Labrinth performed at the Cheltenham racecourse to celebrate the occasion of the Olympic torch coming through Cheltenham. He also performed at several university shows including University of Leeds’ Summer Ball, Nottingham Trent University Graduation Ball, and University of Surrey's End of Year Show. On 29 June, Labrinth performed at VG-lista top 20 in Norway in front of a crowd consisting of 90,000 people. Labrinth also performed at GFest in Preston on 8 September 2012 to celebrate Preston Guild 2012.[21] The song "Beneath Your Beautiful", which features Emeli Sandé was released as the album's sixth single and peaked at number one November 2012 on the UK singles chart, and was Labrinth's first entry into the Billboard Hot 100 at number 34.[22]
In July 2012, it was revealed that Labrinth would be working with Rihanna, which resulted in him co-writing and co-producing her song "Lost In Paradise" from her album 'Unapologetic'.[23][24] Labrinth also collaborated with Ed Sheeran, producing his and Devlin's single "Watchtower", which was released in August 2012.[25] Labrinth also worked with Sheeran in 2014, and produced his single "Save Myself" from the March 2017 album ÷.[26][27]
On 25 December 2012, Labrinth released the Atomic EP for free download via SoundCloud. It features Plan B, Devlin, Wretch 32, Ed Sheeran, Maxsta, Lady Leshurr and Etta Bond among others.[28]