Lisa Maffia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lisa Maffia
Lisa Maffia in 2016
Background information
Birth name	Lisa Maffia
Born	(1979-06-16) 16 June 1979 (age 46)
Origin	London, England
Genres	R&B hip hop UK garage electro house
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter musician rapper actress model fashion designer presenter
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Independiente Epic Records Maffia Recordz Universal

Lisa Maffia (born June 16, 1979) is a British singer, songwriter, and rapper. She first became famous as the main female member of the group So Solid Crew. With So Solid Crew, she had five songs in the top 20. This included the very popular song "21 Seconds" and the album They Don't Know. Both sold enough copies to be called platinum.

As a solo artist, Lisa has also had two songs reach the top 10. Her album won an award, and her song "All Over" also sold platinum. Her most recent song, "Wah Gwarn," came out in 2017. Lisa's mother is half-Italian, and her father is Jamaican.

About Lisa Maffia

Early Life and Training

Lisa Maffia was born in Brixton, London. Her mother, Shirley Maffia, is part English and part Italian. Her father is Jamaican. Lisa has a daughter named Chelsea, who was born when Lisa was 18.

As a child, Lisa learned many types of dance. These included Latin, ballroom, tap, and modern dancing. She also practiced gymnastics. Lisa went to Norwood School and then studied Photography and Art & Design at Brixton College.

Starting Her Music Career

Lisa began her music career in 2000. She added her voice to a song called "Oh No" by So Solid Crew. This was her first big step into the music world.

On August 6, 2001, while with So Solid Crew, their song "21 Seconds" was released. It quickly became number one in the United Kingdom. This song also won "Best British Video" at the 2002 BRIT Awards. After this success, So Solid Crew released their first album, They Don't Know. It sold so many copies that it went platinum.

Solo Success and New Adventures

Lisa Maffia started her solo career in 2003. Her first solo song, "All Over," came out on April 21, 2003. It quickly reached number 2 on the music charts. The song stayed in the top 10 for three weeks. She then released "In Love," which reached number 13.

These popular songs led to her first solo album, First Lady. To promote her album, Lisa performed with famous artists. These included Christina Aguilera, Ashanti, and Blue. Lisa also performed "All Over" at the MOBO Awards.

After taking a break from music, Lisa joined a TV reality show called The Games on Channel 4. In this show, celebrities competed in sports. Lisa won a silver medal.

Starting Her Own Record Label

After The Games, Lisa started her own record label. It was called Maffia Recordz. She released her song "Shake 4 Daddy" on this label. She also signed other artists, like North Star and Romeo. Her label even signed the music for the film Rollin with the Nines.

In May 2007, Lisa shared that she was recording a new album. She was working at Murlyn Studios, where many famous artists like Madonna have recorded. On September 10, Lisa released her song "Bad Girl." This song reached number 36 in the UK and was very popular in Europe. Lisa then went on a European tour.

In August 2008, Lisa joined another TV show called CelebAir on ITV2. In this show, celebrities worked as air hostesses. Lisa won CelebAir on October 23, 2008.

Recent Music and Projects

From 2009 to 2010, Lisa recorded new music. She worked with producers like Roger Sanchez. She also recorded four songs for a new So Solid Crew album. One of these songs was "Since You Went Away."

In January 2010, Lisa toured with So Solid Crew for "Since You Went Away." The song reached the top 10 on the independent singles chart. They performed on TV shows like Big Brother's Big Mouth. It was announced that So Solid Crew would release one more album. Lisa also planned to release more solo albums.

In March 2012, Lisa announced her song "Don't Stop the Music." It featured MC Romeo and Tyler Daley from her Maffia Recordz label. The song was first played on BBC's 1Xtra in April 2012. It was released in July 2012. Lisa also worked with Aggro Santos and appeared on Peter Andre's album Angels & Demons.

In July 2017, Lisa released "Wah Gwarn," the first song from her new album. She also announced she would be a producer for a UK film called Little Lighty. This film is the first from her production company, Maffia Media. In 2019, she hosted her own cooking show on BritAsia TV called Certified.

In December 2021, Lisa shared that she would release a new music collection (EP) in September 2023. She also plans to release her first autobiography, a book about her life, in 2024.

Awards and Achievements

Lisa Maffia has won several awards for her music.

2001

MOBO Awards

• Best UK Garage Act (with So Solid Crew) – winner
• Best UK Newcomer (with So Solid Crew) – winner
• Best UK Act (with So Solid Crew) – nominated

2002

Brit Awards

• Best British Video (with So Solid Crew) for "21 Seconds" – winner
• Best British Newcomer (with So Solid Crew) – nominated
• Best British Single (with So Solid Crew) – nominated

MOBO Awards

• Best UK Garage Act (with So Solid Crew) – nominated

Dancestar World Dance Music Awards

• Best UK Garage Act – winner

2003

MOBO Awards

• Best UK Garage Act – winner
• Best UK Act – nominated
• Best UK Newcomer – nominated

2004

MOBO Awards

• Best UK Garage Act (with So Solid Crew) – winner

2018

Black Magic Awards

• Music Honour — winner

Concert Tours

Lisa Maffia has performed in several concert tours.

Film and Television

Lisa Maffia has appeared in films, documentaries, and many TV shows.

Films

• The Living Dead (2020)
• Time To Collect (2021)
• RoadGirl (2023)

Documentaries

• This Is So Solid (2001)
• 25 Years of UK Garage (2022)

Television

• Top of the Pops (2001, 2002, 2003)
• MOBO Awards (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2013)
• BRIT Awards (2002)
• Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2003)
• CDUK (2003)
• Spring Break Live (2003)
• Smile (2003)
• The Games (2004)
• Never Mind The Buzzcocks (2004, 2008)
• Liquid News (2004)
• Hell’s Kitchen (2004)
• Big Brother’s Big Mouth (2004, 2005)
• Deadline (2007)
• CelebAir-Winner (2008)
• Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (2009)
• The Real Hustle (2009)
• Celebrity Big Brother’s Big Mouth (2010)
• Live From Studio Five (2010)
• The Wright Stuff (2010)
• Celebrity Juice (2012)
• When Television Goes Horribly Wrong (2017)
• Certified with Lisa Maffia (2018)
• Don’t Hate The Playaz (2018)
• Pointless Celebrities (2018, 2019)
• Celebrity Coach Trip (2019)-Joint winner with Mutya Buena
• The All New Monty: Who Bares Wins (2019)
• Loose Women (2019)
• Trace Vault (2020, 2022)
• Celebrity Hunted (2022)
• Celeb MMA (2022)
• Good Morning Britain (2022)

Modelling Work

Lisa Maffia has also worked as a model. She has appeared in famous magazines like Vogue and Elle. She has also been featured in many other women's and men's magazines.

Businesses and Other Projects

Lisa Maffia has started several businesses.

• In 2012, Lisa started her own company called House Of Maffia. This company focuses on interior design and making homes look good for sale.
• In 2020, Lisa opened Salon 48, a hair and beauty salon in Margate. In the same year, she also launched Lyrical UK. This service lets fans get personalized messages from UK Garage artists.
• In 2022, Lisa announced her own line of alcoholic drinks called Maffia Rum. She shared this news on the TV show Good Morning Britain.

Discography (Music Releases)

This section lists the albums and singles Lisa Maffia has released.

Albums

• First Lady (2003)

Singles

Guest Appearances

Lisa Maffia has also been featured on songs by other artists.

• Deeper Part 2 - Romeo feat. Lisa Maffia (2002)
• X - Peter Andre feat. Lisa Maffia (2013)
• Walk This Way - Rev Run feat. Lisa Maffia (2014)
• Shine - FooR feat. Lisa Maffia (2018)
• Bashdrill Remix - Shaqy Dread feat. Lisa Maffia, D-Live, J Kaz, Munie, & Big Zeeks (2020)