Lazee
Encyclopedia
Mawuli Kulego is a Swedish
rapper from Malmö
, Sweden
.
, Sweden
, to parents of Ghana
ian origin. His passion for music grew from a young age and he was heavily influenced by the musical tastes of his father who was a DJ
. He introduced young Lazee to soul
, R&B and reggae
. LAZEE first became interested in Hip Hop
when he was seven and wrote his first rhyme at the age of 10.
Just before LAZEE's 13th birthday his mother sent him to England
where she believed he could "be someone". He attended Elliott School in Putney
, Greater London
. Whilst still a teenager at school LAZEE heard the song "Players Anthem" by The Notorious B.I.G.
and describes it as a "turning point" in his life. Together with Marcus Nzaku Curtis he started writing lyrics and rap battling with other students. LAZEE continued to listen to Hip Hop
and began work on his first mixtape until he eventually moved back to Sweden
in 2004, where he attended John Bauer High School in his native Malmö
.
and began working with producer Ishi. The collaboration gave birth to LAZEE's debut single "Rock Away" on his new label 2Stripes and major label Sony BMG which was released across Scandinavia
in 2008. The single was met with high regard across Scandinavia and wider Europe
with some critics giving it 9/10. Since then LAZEE has released several critically acclaimed songs including "Drop Bombs", "I'm not pop", "Pusherman, featuring Swedish rapper J-Son
" and his current hit single "Hold On" featuring Neverstore
a Swedish punk rock
band which has been a featured single on UK radio stations including Radio 1
and Kiss100 receiving listeners choice selects and ranking highly in song request tables.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
rapper from Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Biography
LAZEE was born in MalmöMalmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, to parents of Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian origin. His passion for music grew from a young age and he was heavily influenced by the musical tastes of his father who was a DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
. He introduced young Lazee to soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, R&B and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
. LAZEE first became interested in Hip Hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
when he was seven and wrote his first rhyme at the age of 10.
Just before LAZEE's 13th birthday his mother sent him to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where she believed he could "be someone". He attended Elliott School in Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
. Whilst still a teenager at school LAZEE heard the song "Players Anthem" by The Notorious B.I.G.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace , best known as The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. He was also known as Biggie Smalls , Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White .Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough...
and describes it as a "turning point" in his life. Together with Marcus Nzaku Curtis he started writing lyrics and rap battling with other students. LAZEE continued to listen to Hip Hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
and began work on his first mixtape until he eventually moved back to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 2004, where he attended John Bauer High School in his native Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
.
Career
LAZEE released his first major work as a mixtape entitled It is what it is with the help of New York DJ Kayslay; the mixtape was a free sample given to 5000 members of the Swedish urban underground from which Lazee gained critical acclaim and notoriety. The mixtape included tracks like "Top Notch" and "Bigga Nigga" and there are two music videos for the tracks as well. Things became serious for LAZEE in 2007 when he moved to StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and began working with producer Ishi. The collaboration gave birth to LAZEE's debut single "Rock Away" on his new label 2Stripes and major label Sony BMG which was released across Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
in 2008. The single was met with high regard across Scandinavia and wider Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with some critics giving it 9/10. Since then LAZEE has released several critically acclaimed songs including "Drop Bombs", "I'm not pop", "Pusherman, featuring Swedish rapper J-Son
J-Son
Julimar Santos Oliveira Neponuceno also known as his stage name J-Son, born April 27, 1985, in Bahia, Brazil is a rapper, singer and songwriter living in Stockholm. He came to Göteborg, Sweden with his mother when he was 5 years old. He is signed to EMI Music Publishing.The Brazilian-Swedish, J-Son...
" and his current hit single "Hold On" featuring Neverstore
Neverstore
Neverstore is a Swedish Pop punk/rock band. The band was formed in 2000 in Skövde.Neverstore released their first album, Sevenhundred Sundays January 24, 2007. The song So Much of Not Enough was included on the album...
a Swedish punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band which has been a featured single on UK radio stations including Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
and Kiss100 receiving listeners choice selects and ranking highly in song request tables.
Mixtapes
- 2006: It Is What It Is
- 2008: Back For The 1st Time
- 2009: First Class Five Stars
- 2009: First Class Five Stars Season 2
Singles
- 2008: "Rock Away"
- 2008: "Hold On" (feat. NeverstoreNeverstoreNeverstore is a Swedish Pop punk/rock band. The band was formed in 2000 in Skövde.Neverstore released their first album, Sevenhundred Sundays January 24, 2007. The song So Much of Not Enough was included on the album...
) - 2008: "Im Not Pop"
- 2010: "Calling Out" (feat. Apollo Drive)
- 2010: "Just Like That" (feat. Danny SaucedoDanny SaucedoDanny Saucedo is a Swedish singer and songwriter often presented just as Danny, who competed as one of the finalists in Idol 2006 - the Swedish version of Idol where he got to the top 6 before being eliminated.Danny has released three music albums and eleven music singles...
) - 2010: "Do It" (feat. MohombiMohombiMohombi Nzasi Moupondo , known professionally as Mohombi, is a Swedish-Congolese R&B singer-songwriter and dancer. He grew up in one of Stockholm's suburbs called Norsborg, Stockholm. Mohombi is RedOne's first signing to 2101 Records in joint venture with Universal Music Group...
) - 2011: "Tag" (feat. Madcon & JulimarJ-SonJulimar Santos Oliveira Neponuceno also known as his stage name J-Son, born April 27, 1985, in Bahia, Brazil is a rapper, singer and songwriter living in Stockholm. He came to Göteborg, Sweden with his mother when he was 5 years old. He is signed to EMI Music Publishing.The Brazilian-Swedish, J-Son...
) - 2011: "Stronger" (feat. Dead by AprilDead by AprilDead by April is a Swedish metal band from Gothenburg, formed in February 2007. The band consists of Jimmie Strimell, Zandro Santiago, Marcus Wesslén and Alex Svenningsson. They released their self-titled debut album in May 2009. In 2010 the two guitarists, Pontus Hjelm and Johan Olsson, left the...
) - 2011: "Uptown Girl" (feat. Mohombi)
Guest Appearances
- 2009: "Gå Loss" (Kartellen feat. Lazee, Adam TenstaAdam TenstaAdam Tensta , is a Swedish rapper. His debut album It's a Tensta Thing was a Swedish chart topper, and was awarded the 2008 Swedish Grammis for best Dance/Hip Hop/Soul album....
, J-SonJ-SonJulimar Santos Oliveira Neponuceno also known as his stage name J-Son, born April 27, 1985, in Bahia, Brazil is a rapper, singer and songwriter living in Stockholm. He came to Göteborg, Sweden with his mother when he was 5 years old. He is signed to EMI Music Publishing.The Brazilian-Swedish, J-Son...
, Glaciuz, Eboi & Mofo The Maverick)