Skinnyman

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.

Singles and EPs

 * Fuck the Hook EP (2003, Low Life)
 * "No Big Ting / Council Estate of Mind" (2004, Low Life)
 * "I'll Be Surprised / Never Gonna Happen" (2004, Low Life)
 * "Creatures of the Night / My Life in Rhymes" (2004, PM Muzik)
 * Skinnyman & DJ Flip – "Forever Rangers / Not Bonnie & Clyde (Instrumentals)" (2005, Netgroove)
 * Ruben da Silva feat. Skinnyman & Manasseh - "Sensi Skank" (2011, RR008)
 * Music Speaks Louder Than Words EP (TBC, Mud Fam Music)
 * Ya Fool - K*ners & Skinnyman (2022)

Guest appearances

 * The London Convention – The London Allstars (single), 1997
 * New Mic Order – Task Force, 1999
 * putt the word out – mystro & jargon, 1999 deal real records
 * U.S.S.R. Life from the Other Side – DJ Vadim, 1999
 * The Unknown – Mark B & Blade, 2000
 * Twilight Of The Gods – Skitz (single), 2000
 * Word Lab – Various Artists, 2000
 * Big Tings We Inna – Rodney P (single), 2001
 * Biro Funk – Braintax, 2001
 * Countryman – Skitz, 2001
 * The Legacy: Episode 1 – Various Artists, 2001
 * Bang Y2K – DJ Vadim (single), 2002
 * U.S.S.R. The Art Of Listening – DJ Vadim, 2002
 * Straight Outta Botley- WESTWOOD VOLUME 2, 2002
 * Asylum Speakers – Foreign Beggars, 2003
 * Civilians – Dark Circles, 2003
 * The World According to RZA – Various Artists, 2003
 * Basementality EP (Part 1) – Underground Alliance, 2004
 * Elementz Universe Vol. 1 – The Elementz (single), 2004
 * Have Patience – Karl Hinds, 2004
 * Lets Av It – Karl Hinds Feat. Skinnyman 2004
 * When I Give My Heart To You – DJ Mentat (single), 2004
 * Bar Fight – First Rate (single), 2005
 * Fame And Money – The Booty Bouncers (single), 2005
 * Skitz Homegrown Vol. 2 – Various Artists, 2005
 * Tip of Da Mysberg Volume 1 – Mystro, 2005
 * Up Your Speed (remix) – Sway, 2005
 * The Whole Nine - Sway, Life & Skinnyman 2006
 * U Must Learn - Skinnyman, KRS-One, Paradise 2006
 * Change Your Heart – Nemesis & Arrogance Real Records, 2006
 * One Less Gun – Delta, The Lostralian LP 2006
 * Another Day – Angela Lawriw, 2006
 * Shakespeare (remix) Akala
 * The Boy Who Cried Wolf – Dap C feat. Skinnyman & S.Kalibre NGU Records, 2006
 * Down – Lunar C, 2017
 * Thriller - Fliptrix (Prod. Joe Corfield) High Focus Records, 2019
 * Jack - RATS, When I Say Run Records, 2019
 * All In Together - Ricky Lix feat. Cappadonna, Skinnyman & Harry Ixer (2021)
 * TrueMendous - Yourself or The World?(Prod. Illinformed) High Focus Records, 2022
 * Price of Love - Blacksmith, 2022