ADY SULEIMAN | SINGER-SONGWRITER

Half-British, half-Tanzanian pop-R&B singer/songwriter Ady Suleiman was born and raised in the historic market town of Grantham, in the East Midlands of England. Growing up on pop music and his DJ father's extensive record collection, he was influenced early on by Jimi Hendrix and later by R&B, jazz, hip-hop, reggae, and soul. He started writing his own music at 14 and began performing while at university in Liverpool. Championed by BBC Radio DJ Dean Jackson, he became popular locally, but really broke out after winning Breakthrough Act of the Year at influential British DJ Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards, leading to support slots with Michael Kiwanuka, Laura Mvula, Lianne La Havas, and others. He was briefly signed to Sony, which put out several of his EPs and singles. 2018 saw him self-release his debut album Memories, which was entirely self-penned and co-produced with the likes of Eric Appapolay and Grades. Later that year, he issued the Acoustic EP, which featured three tracks including "Been Thru." That song was later released in 2019 as a fully produced single alongside "Strange Roses."