N-Dubz biography
N-Dubz were a British hip hop group from Camden Town, London. The group consisted of members Dappy, Tulisa Contostavlos and Fazer.
N-Dubz were previously signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the World Records. They had eight top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart, the most successful being "I Need You", which charted at number five.
Their debut album Uncle B was released on 17 November 2008 and debuted at number eleven on the UK Albums Chart. The album has since been certified platinum for shipments of over 300,000 in the UK. Their second album Against All Odds was released on 16 November 2009, which debuted at number 6 in the UK. It went platinum within approximately two months of release.
Early life
All of the members of N-Dubz were born in Camden Town, North London, and two of them are of Greek heritage. They each attended several different schools, meeting together for the first time when they were about 13 at Haverstock School, and coming together as a group for the first time at about this age under the management of Dino's father, Byron Contostavlos (formerly of Mungo Jerry), who died on 12 April 2007. They had a hard upbringing, living on tough estates and experienced a lot first-hand as teenagers, including violence, depression, drug abuse, extreme financial difficulty, bullying, and gang culture.
Recording career
2000-2007: Group formation and Polydor Records
Performing as the Lickle Rinsers Crew, they released the singles "Bad Man Riddim" and "Life Is Getting Sicker by the Day", which became hits on English pirate radio stations.
After Lickle Rinsers Crew, they then became NW1, after the area they hail from, making their first music video in 2005 for the track "Everyday Of My Life", which received airplay on Channel U, recording more demos as NW1 such as "Don't Feel Like Moving", "Girl On Road" and "Livin Broke". Their first single to be released was "You Better Not Waste My Time", which was available for download only until their 2006 self-released single, "I Swear", which gained them their first mainstream notice. It wasn't until 2007's "Feva Las Vegas" (also self-released) that the group appeared on the UK charts, peaking at No. 57. Each member appeared on the second series of Channel 4's Dubplate Drama after they began to get noticed as a group.
After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer, the group signed to Polydor Records and re-released their first single "You Better Not Waste My Time" on the label, which debuted at No. 26 on the UK singles chart. In mid-2007, Dappy released "Love for my Slum" with fellow UK artist Baker Troble. This song was number one on Channel U for many weeks and was a big hit with the UK underground rap scene but was heavily criticised by the media for a scene in which Dappy is stood outside a block of expensive luxury flats with a "rich kid" who is trying to look like a gangster. The Independent wrote, "His lyrics combine jealousy with anger: 'You got too much to lose / You're in a great position... You wouldn't last a minute where I'm from / You'd go missing / So appreciate what you got / 'cos I'm still wishing.' And then he grabs the rich kid by his coat, pulls him toward him, and punches him in the face. The silent boy falls instantly to the pavement..."; they then went on to put "Do scenes like these suggest that music videos are encouraging their viewers to indulge in criminality?". Dappy appeared on the television show Never Mind the Buzzcocks on 29 November 2007, on Phill Jupitus's team, and wore a trademark "Dappy hat", also giving one to Simon Amstell to wear as part of the gag. Despite vowing he would not return to the show, he appeared for a second time on the guest team on 4 December 2008 and for a third time, on Phill's team, which was broadcast on 18 November 2009.
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