Kwasi Danquah III ( born September 14, 1986), better known by his pseudonyms Tinchy Stryder and Star In The Hood, is a Ghanaian British recording artist, music executive, A&R executive, and businessman. He is also the co-founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Takeover Roc Nation.
Tinchy Stryder rose to popularity with the song "Take Me Back" which peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart in January 2009. He then released the song "Number 1", (a collaboration with N-Dubz) which entered the UK chart at number 1 on 26 April 2009. Stryder later released "Never Leave You" with Amelle Berrabah from girl-group Sugababes which became Stryder's second number 1 on 9 August 2009.
Tinchy Stryder has opened other ventures since the beginning of his success. He founded and is the creator of the clothing line Star in the Hood (company). He is also the President and chief executive of Takeover/Cloud 9 (Music Publishing company through EMI Music Publishing), and he currently serves as the Chairman and A&R executive of Takeover Entertainment Ltd.
Stryder's recordings date back to 1997, he started at the age of 13 in 2000 on pirate radio sets in East London with other grime artists such as Dizzee Rascal and Wiley. Stryder went on to help form the grime collective Ruff Sqwad in 2001 consisting of 5-UK Garage artists, before the group expanded to six artists in 2004, then finally settling at 7-grime artists in 2006.
His pseudonym Tinchy Stryder derives from the arcade game Strider which he played when he was young and from the nickname "Tinchy" given to him due to his short stature: his height at 5'1" (1.55m) making him the shortest male artist ever to top the UK Top 40.
In 2002, the well-known grime collective Roll Deep of 13-grime artists was formed, and included Tinchy Stryder and Dizzee Rascal as MCs (Master of Ceremonies). They were making music that was a derivative of UK Garage. For a while there was not even a name for it. The label "grime" was the one that stuck. While Stryder was a member of Roll Deep, he performed some songs including, "U Were Always" in 2002, which was released years later on Roll Deep's compilations album, Street Anthems in 2009. He also performed on Roll Deep's 2004 mixtape, Creeper Vol. 2. Back then he had a high pitched voice.
The debut album by Stryder, Star in the Hood, was released on 13 August 2007 on Takeover Entertainment Ltd. The album spawned two main singles, "Breakaway", which was released on 9 April 2007 and "Something About Your Smile", released on 6 August 2007, with British singer-songwriter, Cylena Cymone. Bonus track "Mainstream Money" was also released as an underground single in November 2007.
In 2008, Stryder released his debut extended play, Cloud 9 The EP, which was released on 31 March, also on Takeover Entertainment. This was succeeded by Stryder and grime producer Maniac collaborating on the studio album, Tinchy Stryder Vs. Maniac, which was released on 24 November 2008. Only one single was released from the album, "Rollin", which was released in October 2008. This track was also included on Stryder's 2009 certified gold second solo studio album, Catch 22, as part of the, Deluxe 2-Disc Edition.
Stryder began a partnership with producer/songwriter Fraser T. Smith whom he originally contacted through MySpace and then met while supporting Kano on tour. According to Smith in an interview with HitQuarters, "Tinchy had no shortage of beats and cool sounding production, but I think he wanted to try and break through into the mainstream, and I had some experience crossing urban over into pop having worked with artists like Kano and Craig David."
His next single, "Stryderman", became his first single to chart in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 73. It was the first single taken from his second album, Catch 22. The second single, "Take Me Back", entered the official UK Singles Chart at 39 on downloads alone, one day before its official release. The following week the single moved up 36 places to peak position 3.
Tinchy Stryder's third solo studio album, Third Strike was released on Monday 15 November 2010, but it failed to match the commercial success of Catch 22.
Stryder began recording Third Strike shortly after he completed his previous album, he then released a promotional single, "Gangsta?", six month's prior to the release of the studio album. This was followed by Stryder releasing the first official single from it, a year from the day he released his second studio album. He began working with Fraser T. Smith who also worked on his second studio album. Taio Cruz produced the largely, along with Fraser T. Smith.
The album title was picked as Stryder thought the album would be a smash hit, so he thought he would rip off the title of Street Fighter III 3rd Strike which was also a massive success. Third Strike features several artists, including Amelle, with whom he collaborated on Catch 22 on the single "Never Leave You" where the pair gained a number one in the UK. The album features Taio Cruz who also featured on the Stryder's last album. The album also features artists affiliated with Roc Nation: Melanie Fiona "Let It Rain", Alexis Jordan, and Bridget Kelly "Take The World". The song "Game Over" features six different artists.
The first single from this forthcoming solo studio album entitled; "Full Tank", is "Spaceship" and it features Dappy from N-Dubz. Stryder performed at the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final in support of the single, making him the first rapper, contemporary artist and singer in history to perform at a UEFA Champions League final.
Stryder teamed up with Scottish DJs/producers Calvin Harris and Matt Burns credited as 'BURNS', for the second single from this fourth solo studio album, "Off The Record". On Thursday, November 3rd, 2011, Stryder announced in an interview that his new album will be entitled; "Full Tank".
