Professor Green: Biography

Professor Green was born Stephen Paul Manderson on the 27 November 1983. He was raised in Hackney London by his grandmother from the age of one due to a turbulent relationship he had with both parents. His father, Peter, committed suicide in 2008 in Brentwood, Essex. Manderson has stated previously he feels his father's death has made him a better person, saying: "I'd had a turbulent relationship with my dad. He was always in and out of my life and I was raised by my grandmother Patricia. Mum, who had me at 16, was there for the most part but my grandmother was the most influential. I last saw my dad alive on my 18th birthday. He came over to see me but after that we just stopped talking. There was no real reason. He hanged himself and I had to go and identify the body in the morgue."

Manderson grew up on a council estate which he claims has made him a better person. He said he "fell in to rapping accidentally" when he was at a party at a friend's house, where everyone was free-styling, he was put on the spot and he said it worked for him. He took this up as a hobby regularly going to freestyle rap battles at a night called 'LyricPad'. After a short but successful time as a free style MC, Manderson was spotted by Mike Skinner from 'The Streets' who quickly signed Manderson to his record label, 'The Beats'.

During his time at Skinner's label Manderson didn't produce any material and on the 12th February 2006 'The Beats' record label went under leaving Green filled with contempt. When asked now about his time on the label his words are never complimentary. In 2008 green won ₤50.000 from the jumpoff Myspace challenge. With this money Green went on to record 'The Green' EP. Shortly after this Manderson enjoyed a tour with Lilly Allen which enhanced his name greatly, allowing him to gain better name recognition. "Alive Till Im Dead" Manderson's debut album was released on 20th July 2010 peaking at #2 in the British album chart. His follow up album, "At Your Inconvenience" was released on 2nd October 2011.