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Labrinth
British retired singer (born 1989)
Timothy Lee McKenzie, better known by his stage name Labrinth, is a British singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. Labrinth signed as a recording artist with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Music in 2010, initially collaborating with the English rapper Tinie Tempah.
He appeared as a featured artist: uncredited on the single "Pass Out", but later officially on "Frisky"; then he released his first solo single, "Let the Sun Shine" in September. All three songs peaked in the top five on the UK Singles Chart.
genres: pop music, contemporary R&B, hip-hop, electronic music, grime, soul, rock music, funk
awards: Camille Awards
plays: voice
member of: LSD
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
dancedubstepelectronicgrimehip hophip-hop
The Dial Tone DailyExtra
Early life
McKenzie was born and raised in Hackney, London, and is of Jamaican descent. He comes from a family of musicians and has eight siblings. Their home was filled with the sound of black gospel music, which their parents loved. When young, he and his eight siblings formed a band called Mac 9. He attended Stoke Newington School and began to pursue a musical career during his school years. His brother, Mac, who is also a music producer, introduced McKenzie at the age of 15 to the art of creating music in his studio. His cousin is the Irish boxer Tommy McCarthy.
Labrinth started his career by producing the track "Dead End" for recording artist Master Shortie from the album A.D.H.D. (2009). The track generated interest in McKenzie as a producer and songwriter. Guy Moot of EMI Music Publishing offered the artist a publishing deal. From 2010 to 2011, Labrinth mentored the Urban Development Vocal Collective (UDVC) alongside his sister, ShezAr. He also produced multiple tracks for the collective, contributing towards a nine-track project titled Urban Development. The vocalists also provided backing vocals for Labrinth's original tracks.
British musician, singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer, born 4 January 1989 in Hackney, London. He initially began professionally as a producer, until Simon Cowell signed him to his record label Syco Music as a solo act.
Also known as: Labirinth, Labyrinth, 迷走小子
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
Labrinth, the records, oldest first
Treatment
2012 ep
Beneath Your Beautiful
2012 ep
Express Yourself
2012 ep
on the air
Electronic Earth
2012 album
Atomic
2013 ep
Imagination & the Misfit Kid
2019 album
Deezer Sessions
2020 ep
Ends & Begins
2023 album
Prelude
2025 album
COSMIC OPERA ACT I
2026 album
COSMIC OPERA ACT II
2026 album
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Express Yourself" is a song by English musician Labrinth. Written by Labrinth and Charles Wright, it was released as the fourth single from his debut studio album, Electronic Earth on 7 May 2012.
It interpolates "Express Yourself" by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, which was the same song sampled by N.W.A. in their 1988 song of the same name, and the famous drum break from James Brown's "Funky Drummer".
Reception
Digitalspy.co.uk reviewed the single saying "From the gospel-inspired chorus in "Let the Sun Shine" to the hi-wired grime beats on "Earthquake", Labrinth is quickly earning himself a reputation as the chameleon of the pop world. Better yet, it appears he still has plenty more ideas tucked up his sleeve, having told us he wants to put out eight singles from his debut LP Electronic Earth. So what of release number four?
Music video
Several images of the music video were posted to Labrinth's official Facebook page prior to the release of the video. The official video was shot by French directorial duo Jonas & François. It was released on 16 May 2012, at a total length of three minutes and thirty-two seconds. The video depicts Labrinth parodying such programmes as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, where he brings back the rotating throne from the sitcom's opening titles, Ice Age and The Simpsons, recreating scenes from the show's opening sequences and also he is seen performing on a floor with comic book artworks covering it. The video uses the single remix of "Express Yourself", rather than the album version.
In popular culture
Featured in a 2020 commercial for Social Finance, Inc., (commonly known as SoFi).
