Kano (British musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kano
Kano performing in 2017
Background information
Birth name	Kane Brett Robinson
Also known as	Kano KA
Born	(1985-05-21) 21 May 1985 (age 40) East Ham, London, England
Genres	British hip hop grime UK Garage
Occupation(s)	Rapper songwriter actor
Years active	2001–present
Labels	679 (2005–2007) Bigger Picture (2008–present) Parlophone (2016–present)
Associated acts	Ghetts Wretch 32 Bashy Craig David Lethal Bizzle Giggs Wiley Crazy Titch Gorillaz Nasty Crew

Kane Brett Robinson (born 21 May 1985), known as Kano, is a British rapper, songwriter, and actor from East Ham, London. He is famous for his music, especially in the grime and British hip hop styles. His fifth album, Made in the Manor, was nominated for the 2016 Mercury Prize and won Best Album at the 2016 MOBO Awards. He is also well-known for playing the character Sully in the TV show Top Boy.

Music Career

Early Years and First Steps (1985–2003)

Kane Brett Robinson grew up in East Ham, London, with parents from Jamaica. He went to Langdon Secondary School and later studied for his A-Levels. When he was younger, he was a very good football player. He played for big clubs like Chelsea, West Ham United, Norwich City, and Celtic by the time he was 13. However, he decided to focus on music instead of football.

He joined a music group called N.A.S.T.Y. Crew, which stood for Natural Artistic Sounds Touching You. This group was based in East London and had a popular show on a pirate radio station called Deja Vu. They played their music and had other rising artists like Dizzee Rascal and Wiley on their show. Kano used this popularity to start his solo career. He released his first solo song in 2002 and then signed a deal to make his own album.

Home Sweet Home Album (2004–2005)

In 2004, Kano modeled for a fashion brand, but he chose to focus on his music instead. Soon after, he released his first major solo song, "P's & Q's". It was released on a special 12-inch vinyl record and became very popular in the underground music scene.

In 2005, he released his second song, "Typical Me", which reached number 22 on the UK Singles Charts. The music video for "Typical Me" was directed by Andy Hylton. His first album, Home Sweet Home, came out on 27 June 2005. It quickly entered the UK top 40 chart at number 36. The album later earned a "gold status" in the UK, meaning it sold many copies, and received good reviews from music critics.

Another song from the album, "Nite Nite", reached number 25 in the UK charts. A video for "Reload It" was also released, showing live performances. In December 2005, Kano released a remixed song called "Nobody Don't Dance No More". His final song from the album, "Brown Eyes" and "Signs in Life", came out in March 2006. Kano's music was also part of a 2005 music collection called Run the Road, which featured 16 grime songs from artists like Wiley and Dizzee Rascal.

London Town Album (2006–2007)

In March 2006, Kano performed at an MTV2 event in Bristol. He played new songs and also announced that his next album would be called London Town.

Before the album was released, Kano put out a mixtape. A mixtape is a collection of songs, sometimes new ones and sometimes his own versions of other popular songs. This mixtape included a preview of "Buss It Up," a song that would appear on London Town. The album was released on 10 September 2007. It included the song "This Is The Girl," which featured Craig David. The album also had collaborations with famous artists like Damon Albarn from Blur and Gorillaz, Kate Nash, and Vybz Kartel. Kano went on tour in the UK to support the album.

140 Grime St and MC No. 1 (2008–2009)

In 2008, Kano decided to leave his record label because he wanted to go back to his original "grimier" music style. He started sharing new freestyle songs on his MySpace page. In April, he released a mixtape called MC No. 1, followed by his third album, 140 Grime Street. Even though these new releases used more American hip-hop style beats, they were still very popular.

140 Grime Street was released on 29 September 2008. Most of the songs were produced by Mikey J, with some help from Wiley and DaVinChe. The album also featured other artists like Ghetto and Skepta. The song "Rock N Rolla" was first played on BBC Radio 1xtra. Another song, "More Than One Way," was created for a campaign to promote the Diploma qualification and was given away for free. Students from across the UK helped make the music video for this song.

Method to the Maadness and Mixtapes (2010–2013)

Kano's fourth album, Method to the Maadness, came out on 30 August 2010. It reached number 45 on the UK Albums Chart, making it his fourth album in a row to be in the Top 50. The main song from the album was "Upside," featuring Michelle Breeze. In the same year, he also sang on the third Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach. He worked with fellow British rapper Bashy and the National Orchestra for Arabic Music on a song called "White Flag."

In September, Kano announced a special four-song project with producer Mikey J. They called it Not for the A List because Kano wanted to make music freely. They planned to release one song each week to a different DJ to play on the radio. The songs included "Random Antics," "Alien" (featuring Maxsta), "E.T" (featuring Wiley, Scorcher, and Wretch 32), and "House of Pain" (featuring Ghetts).

On 13 November 2011, Kano shared on Twitter that he would release a mixtape called Girls Over Guns that month. On 1 January 2012, he released another mixtape called Jack Bauer 2.4.

Made in the Manor Album (2014–2018)

On 26 April 2014, Kano released a music video for "Flow of the Year" featuring JME. The next year, he released the song "Hail" in March 2015 and "New Banger" in April 2015. These songs came before his fifth album, Made in the Manor, which was released in 2016. To promote the album, he released the song "3 Wheel-Ups" featuring Wiley and Giggs. This song was first played on MistaJam's BBC Radio 1Xtra show on 7 January 2016.

The album Made in the Manor reached number 8 on the UK Albums Chart. This was Kano's highest-charting album since London Town in 2007.

Hoodies All Summer and Recent Work (2019–present)

On 30 August 2019, Kano's sixth album, Hoodies All Summer, was released. This album was later nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2020, which was the second time Kano had an album nominated for this important award. In 2020, he also sang on the seventh Gorillaz album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, on the song "Dead Butterflies." In October 2020, Kano worked with producer Fraser T. Smith on Smith's first album, "12 Questions."

Acting Career

In October 2011, Kano started his acting career in the Channel 4 TV show Top Boy. He played the role of Sully. The people making the show were very impressed with how well he acted with his co-star Ashley Walters, so they changed the character of Sully to fit Kano even better. The show ran for two seasons before Channel 4 stopped making it in 2014.

In 2017, the streaming service Netflix announced that they would bring Top Boy back. Kano returned to play his role as Sully. This revival happened partly because the Canadian rapper Drake was a big fan of the original show and helped produce the new episodes. The third and fourth seasons of Top Boy came out on Netflix in September 2019 and March 2022. A fifth and final season was announced in March 2022 and aired in September 2023.

Kano also plays the main character, Izi, in the movie The Kitchen. This is a futuristic action drama for Netflix that was directed by Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya. It was shown for the first time at the 67th London Film Festival on 15 October 2023.

Awards and Recognition

Kano has won several awards for his music and acting.

• In 2004, he won the Best Newcomer award at the Urban Music Awards.
• In 2005, he was nominated for four MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards and won the award for Best Newcomer.
• He also won an award at the first Channel U "Best of British" Awards.
• On New Year's Eve 2005, the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, named him one of "London's Heroes of 2005."
• In January 2006, he was nominated for a BRIT Award for Best Urban Act.
• In 2016, Kano's album Made in the Manor was nominated for the Mercury Music Award. It also won 'Best Album' at the 2016 MOBO Awards.
• His sixth album, Hoodies All Summer, was nominated for a second Mercury Music Award.
• In 2022, Kano won a MOBO Award for Best Performance in a TV Show/Film for his acting in the fourth season of Top Boy.

Personal Life

Kano is a fan of Liverpool F.C., a famous football club.

Discography

• Home Sweet Home (2005)
• London Town (2007)
• 140 Grime Street (2008)
• Method to the Maadness (2010)
• Made in the Manor (2016)
• Hoodies All Summer (2019)

Filmography