Professor Green

Professor Green
Stephen Manderson in 2012
Born	Stephen Paul Manderson (1983-11-27) 27 November 1983 Hackney, London, England
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter actor television personality mental health activist
Spouse	Millie Mackintosh ​ ​ (m. 2013; div. 2016)​
Musical career
Genres	Hip hop grime electronica
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Virgin (2010–2015) Relentless (2016–2020) Gang Green (2019–present) Cooking Vinyl (2021–present)
Website	professorgreen.co.uk

Stephen Paul Manderson (born 27 November 1983), better known by his stage name Professor Green or simply Pro Green, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, television personality and mental health activist from London.

Growing up on a council estate in Clapton, east London, Green went on to become a multi-platinum artist, with 3.5 million combined sales in the UK. He is the former co-host of Lip Sync Battle UK on Channel 5. His autobiography featured on the Times bestseller list, and he is the patron of the suicide prevention charity CALM.

Early life

Manderson's mother gave birth to him when she was 16 years old, splitting with the boy's father shortly after. At six weeks old he required a pyloromyotomy operation to his stomach. Manderson was raised by his grandmother, great-grandmother and uncles in a two bedroom flat on the Northwold housing estate in Clapton, Hackney, London, in a home which he describes as chaotic. Green's great-grandmother Edie taught him to read and fed his intellectual curiosity as a child. When she died it had a great impact on him as they were so close.

He sold cannabis as a youngster and smoked it on a daily basis between the ages of 16 and 24. Although he was a bright student and dreamed of being a lawyer, he suffered from depression at the loss of his parents and he left Stoke Newington School in Clissold Road without any qualifications.

When Green was 24 years old his father died by suicide. Green went to identify the corpse in the morgue. He stopped using any drugs from that point to allow himself to process the death fully.

Career

Professor Green performed as a special guest of Lily Allen in 2009.

2006–2010

In 2006, Green released his first mixtape, Lecture #1. He won the inaugural JumpOff MySpace £50,000 battle rap tournament in 2008.

2010–11: Alive Till I'm Dead

After touring with Lily Allen, Green was signed to Virgin Records and in 2010, Green released his debut album, Alive Till I'm Dead. His first single, "I Need You Tonight", peaked at number 3 in the UK, and number 15 in Ireland, and was certified silver in the United Kingdom.

He released his second single 'Just Be Good to Green', in 2010 in the UK, which featured British singer Lily Allen. It became a top 5 hit in the UK, a top 20 hit in Ireland and on the European Hot 100 Singles. It also peaked at #32 in New Zealand and #49 in Australia. His album was released a week later, and peaked at #2 in the UK and #18 in Ireland. He released Monster on 3 October 2010 as the third single from the album, featuring UK rapper Example (Elliot Gleave). The single became a top 30 hit on the UK Singles Chart, and the album has been certificated Platinum with sales of over 300,000 in the United Kingdom.

In 2010 Green joined Lily Allen on stage at Wembley Stadium whilst supporting Muse, to perform her number one hit 'Smile', and 'Just Be Good To Green'. In October 2010, Green released the video for his next single "Jungle", which features Maverick Sabre. It was released on 3 January 2011 and reached #31 in the UK Singles Chart.

In 2011 Green was the first social ambassador for the clothing and footwear manufacturer brand Puma, focusing on the fashion and lifestyle side of the brand. In October 2012, Puma launched an exclusive apparel collection designed by Green.

2011–2012: At Your Inconvenience

Green's second album, At Your Inconvenience, was released in October 2011. The title track "At Your Inconvenience" was premiered by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on 13 July 2011. That track was released as a promotional single only, as an instant download upon preorder of the album on iTunes. The first official single, "Read All About It" (with guest vocals from Emeli Sandé), was released on 23 October 2011. On 30 October 2011, it reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart.

The second single released from the album was "Never Be a Right Time", with guest vocals from Ed Drewett. The EP featured remixes from Document One and Drums of London, and a remix of "How Many Moons" featuring fellow UK rappers Dream McLean and Rinse. The "How Many Moons" remix premiered on Mistajam's show on 1Xtra in January 2012. The third single released was "Remedy", featuring Ruth-Anne Cunningham. A remix contest was hosted where producers could download the stems for the track and use them to create a remix.

The fourth single was "Avalon" featuring Sierra Kusterbeck, which appeared on an advert for the energy drink Relentless. Pro Green is a brand ambassador for Relentless, and performed for them at a secret gig in his home town of Hackney, London.

2013–2014: Growing Up In Public

A promotional non-album single, titled "Are You Getting Enough?", featuring Miles Kane and was released in July 2013. After the single failed to chart even in the UK top 100, Green announced that the first "proper" single from the album would be released in January 2014 and the album would follow shortly.

Green performed new tracks titled "I Need Church" and "Little Secrets" in his 2013 live sets. Tweets and Instagram posts also revealed a collaboration with Wretch 32 and iSHi titled "Gross" and another track titled "The Middle". Green also posted a short clip of a collaboration with iSHI and Ella Eyre which didn't make the album.

Green appeared on CBBC show 12 Again, talking about his life at age 12. In April 2013, he released a 54-second teaser of the album's first promotional single "Not Your Man", which features vocals from Thabo.

In 2014, he appeared on a remix of "German Whip" by Meridian Dan, also featuring Skepta, Bossman Birdie and Jordan Stephens. "Not Your Man" premiered in July 2014, and was released as an "instant grat" download on iTunes when you pre-ordered the album. The album's second "instant grat" promotional single, "I Need Church", was released on 16 July. The lead single from the album, "Lullaby" featuring Tori Kelly, was released in September 2014. Growing Up in Public was released in September 2014. The album featured guest appearances from James Craise, Tori Kelly, Mr Probz, Rizzle Kicks, Whinnie Williams, Thabo, Cas and Dream Mclean.

2016–present: Matters of the Heart

In November 2016, Professor Green released "One Eye on the Door" with an accompanying music video.

In June 2019, Green announced that he would be releasing the title track of his second EP, Matters of the Heart in July, with the 6-track EP set to be released in September. He will be touring the album. In 2020, the track "Bad Decisions" was released featuring NAHLI.

In August 2021, Green was signed to a worldwide artist services deal with British independent record label Cooking Vinyl.

Politics

In June 2017, Green endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election. He told fans to stop "listening to the slander and attempted media blanket" of Corbyn, adding: "He is for peace and not war, that doesn't make him weak, nor does it mean he's spineless or without a backbone – quite the opposite." In November 2019, along with 34 other musicians, he signed a letter endorsing Corbyn in the 2019 UK general election with a call to end austerity.

In July 2017, while visiting Rochdale to film a documentary, he confronted the leaders of far right political group Britain First, as reported in the British media, filming an anti-Muslim march he witnessed taking place in the Northern town, interviewing co-leader Jayda Fransen.

Personal life

In May 2009, Green was attacked with the neck of a broken bottle in the Cargo nightclub in Shoreditch, London. His assailant was later convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison. In May 2013, Green was crushed between two cars when travelling to perform a live show at Hartpury College in Gloucester. He was taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg, but returned to appear at Harper Adams University in Shropshire after just three weeks, followed by a long set at Glastonbury during the last weekend in June, which included him running along the front row of the audience. In 2019 Green fractured his neck during a seizure, just before leaving for a UK tour.

Green married Millie Mackintosh at Babington House in Somerset in 2013. They divorced in 2016.

Green's autobiography, Lucky, was published in September 2015. It was a Times bestseller. Green presented Suicide and Me on BBC Three on 27 October 2015. Green is also one of the 100 contributors to the book, Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You, of which all proceeds go to NHS Charities Together and The Lullaby Trust.

Green is the patron of the anti-suicide charity CALM.

Green is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.

In 2021, he welcomed a first born son with his partner, actress Karima McAdams. The family live in London.

Filmography

Discography

Albums

• Alive Till I'm Dead (2010)
• At Your Inconvenience (2011)
• Growing Up In Public (2014)

Mixtapes

• Lecture #1 (2006)

EPs

• The Green EP (2008)
• Matters of the Heart (2019)

Bibliography

• Lucky (Blink Publishing, ISBN 1910536326 / ISBN 978-1910536322, published in September 2015)

Awards and nominations

• BT Digital Music Awards 2010
  • Breakthrough Artist of the Year – Won
  • Best Newcomer – Nominated
• MTV Europe Music Awards 2010
  • Best Push Act
• MOBO Awards 2010
  • Best Newcomer – Nominated
  • Best Song - "I Need You Tonight" - Nominated
  • Best Hip Hop/Grime Act - Won
• MP3 Awards 2010
  • Radio/ Charts/ Downloads - "Just Be Good to Green" – Nominated
• Urban Music Awards 2010
  • Best Newcomer – Nominated
  • Best Hip-Hop Act – Nominated
  • Best Song - "I Need You Tonight" – Nominated
• NME Awards 2011
  • Best Dancefloor Filler - "Jungle" – Won

See also

• List of people from the London Borough of Hackney
• Stormzy

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Professor Green.

• Official website
• Professor Green discography at Discogs
• Professor Green battle profile on Rap Grid