Giggs

Nathan Thompson (born 1983), better known by his stage names Giggs or Hollowman, is a British rapper from Peckham, South London, known for rapping slowly in a low voice, which he described as "something different, enough to separate me from all the competing others." 

He is the leader of SN1 (Spare No. 1), a branch of the Peckham Black Gang, alongside his brother Joe Grind, Spender, YG (Young Giggs), and Gunna D. Other artists within this group include Kyze and Tiny Boost. The group's main producers are Simple, Boomblast, Unit 10, Universe, and Pablo.

Biography

Born Nathan Thompson in the early 1980s, raised by a single mum and the eldest of his siblings, he grew up in a less well-off family in Peckham. He was originally nicknamed 'Giggler' because of his tendency to laugh even in the most inappropriate situations, and this was eventually cut down to 'Giggs.' He became a father at the age of 21 but soon after spent two years in jail for gun possession.

Soon after being released from prison in 2005, Giggs started pursuing rapping as a career instead of a hobby. Giggs and his SN1 crew started off releasing numerous mixtapes, including Hollowman Meets Blade, Welcome to Boomzville, Best of Giggs 1 and 2 and 3, and the hugely successful Ard Bodied, which featured the street anthem of 2008, "Talking the Hardest." His mixtapes have supposedly sold more than 100,000 units. This success helped his buzz expand outside London. However, when Giggs first signed to XL Recordings, the record label was allegedly warned by members of Operation Trident not to back the London Rapper as Operation Trident is the Metropolitan Police's specialist team investigating gun crime within the black community in Peckham.

Giggs released the street anthem "Talkin the Hardest" in 2008, which helped his growing buzz. The track features Giggs rapping over the beat from American hip-hop artist Stat Quo's track "Here We Go," originally produced by Dr. Dre. He then released his debut independent album Walk in Da Park on 4 August 2008. The album had two official videos, one for the tracks "Uummm!!" and one for "You Raised Me/Open Up." Walk in Da Park received mainly positive reviews and was very successful, selling out in most HMVs in the first two days of release.

Let Em Ave It is Giggs' second album and the first on a major label, under the XL Recordings label. "Look What the Cat Dragged In" was released on 7 June 2010 on XL Recordings and is included on the album, which was released on 21 June 2010.

Singles released from the album include "Slow Songs" featuring Mike Skinner and "Don't Go There" featuring B.o.B. In March 2010, "Don't Go There" entered the UK Singles Chart at #60.

Giggs has founded his own record label called SN1 Entertainment, and it has not yet been confirmed whether or not it will be distributed through XL recordings. So far, the only major releases on this label are Giggs' debut album Walk in Da Park and Joe Grind's Not Your Average Joe.