Mickey Lightfoot facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mickey Lightfoot
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Alternative hip hop, experimental hip hop, electronic, soul, grime, Afrobeats
Instruments	Vocals, keyboard, bass, guitar
Years active	2011 (2011)–present
Members	Osei, Akara The Music, Neil White

Mickey Lightfoot, whose real name is Osei Amponsa, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. His music mixes future hip-hop, Afrobeats, and alternative grime styles.

In 2013, Lightfoot released his EP called To Kill A Flockin Bird. This EP featured artists like Darq E Freaker and Azekel. It also led to his music being played on BBC Radio 1. In 2014, Afropunk, a cultural group in New York, named Lightfoot and Neneh Cherry as "10 Artists to watch."

Mickey Lightfoot's Early Life

Mickey Lightfoot was born in Brockley, South London. His parents were from Ghana. His mother, Comfort Akuse, once worked as a seamstress for the famous designer Vivienne Westwood. His father, Alex Amponsah, was an important West African political activist.

Even though Mickey loved football and music in school, he chose to study science. He earned a degree in Physiology and Pharmacology from Bristol University.

Starting His Music Career

Mickey Lightfoot moved to Bristol. There, he started promoting club nights, which helped him get into making music. He was later accepted into the Red Bull Music Academy. This is a special place where many famous musicians have studied, like Flying Lotus and Hudson Mohawke.

Some of his first music releases were even talked about by the British newspaper The Guardian. Over time, his live band grew to include Akara The Music and Neil White. Neil White used to be the bass player for a Canadian band called The Carps.

His Unique Music Style

James Elliott, a writer for Earmilk, said that Lightfoot's music is based in hip hop. It also blends sounds from garage, grime, electronic music, and R&B. His music connects soul and rap. It's deep and makes you listen carefully, challenging how people usually put music into strict groups.

Lightfoot has shared that "Afrocentrism" is the main idea behind all his work. This means his music is built on African culture and history.

Who Influenced Mickey Lightfoot?

Mickey Lightfoot's music is influenced by many different artists. Some influences include the unique style of Tricky and the cool glamour of Andre 3000.

He combines sounds from Ghanaian highlife music with UK grime. He also adds influences from 90s hip hop and garage music, which he grew up listening to.

Music Releases

His EP, To Kill A Flockin Bird, came out digitally on October 6, 2013. It was released by Peckish. Many music blogs and magazines, like Hypetrack and Rankin's Hunger TV, really liked the EP.

Live Performances and Festivals

Mickey Lightfoot has played at many cool festivals. In June 2014, he performed at the Plissken Festival in Athens, Greece. He also played at the Lunatic Festival in Lüneburg, Germany, and the Field Day festival that same year. He has also performed at Sonar Festival and SXSW.

Other Music Work

Lightfoot has helped write songs for other artists. He has writing credits for the producer Adamski. He has also worked with M.I.A, Brandt Brauer Frick, Om'mas Keith, The Cool Kids, and Bok Bok.

Mickey Lightfoot's Discography

Singles

EPs