Headie One

Adjei grew up on the "infamous"[8] Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham.[9] He is of Ghanaian origin.[10]

In his youth he was "obsessed" with football and played for local team Haringey Borough F.C.[11] He was due to have a trial with Stevenage F.C. before an ankle fracture led to his exit from the sport.[11] Adjei is an avid supporter of Manchester United.[12]

He first began rapping in his early teens, though only began focusing on it after his first release from prison.[13] His moniker derives from a childhood nickname due to his head's resemblance to a 50p coin.[9]

Adjei began releasing music in the early 2010s under the name Headz, including as part of a group named Star Gang.[2][14] In 2014 he released his only mixtape under that alias, titled Headz or Tails.[15] Also part of Star Gang was fellow Tottenham rapper RV - he and Headie One became frequent collaborators, including co-releasing the mixtapes Sticks & Stones (2016) and Drillers x Trappers (2017).[16] Together they formed part of OFB, a UK drill crew based in the Broadwater Farm estate.[8]

In February 2018, he released his next solo mixtape as Headie One, titled The One. This included "Know Better" with RV, which became an "underground hit".[5] This was his first release that was signed to Relentless Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music.[17] In May he was featured on "Missing", a Belly Squad track that peaked at number 84 on the UK Singles Chart.[18] This was followed by another solo mixtape, The One Two, in June 2018, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number 32.[19] In November he performed on his first national UK tour.[20]

In January 2019, his single "18Hunna", featuring Dave, entered the UK chart at number 6 - the highest a drill artist has ever charted.[6][21] In March Adjei released his sixth mixtape, and third with RV, Drillers x Trappers II.[22] It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 21.[23] "Match Day", the first single from the mixtape, entered the Singles Chart at number 86.[6] In July he featured on the "I Spy" single by Krept and Konan, which peaked at number 18.[24]

In August 2019 Adjei released his seventh mixtape in five years, Music x Road.[7] The release was praised by critics,[7][25][26] and was noted for being a move away from his usual sound - with NME describing it as being "often far from drill".[25] It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 5 - his highest chart placing to date.[6] Other than the previously-released "18Hunna", several tracks from the mixtape also charted, such as "Back to Basics" with Skepta, "Rubbery Bandz" and "Both".[6]

In December 2019, he featured on Stormzy's new album Heavy Is the Head on the song "Audacity".

In July 2020, he released a single featuring Drake called "Only You Freestyle" produced by M1onthebeat.

In October 2020, his debut album Edna topped the UK charts.[27] The album was dedicated to his late mother of the same name. It has garnered plenty of praise within the music world. NME praised the "melancholy, minor-key trap beats requisite of in-vogue modern hip-hop",[28] while The Times described Adjei as the "breakout star of drill".[29]

As a teenager Adjei had been imprisoned three times,[9][13] including for dealing crack cocaine and heroin—most recently in 2014.[17][30]

In January 2018 he was reportedly attacked by rivals at the University of Bedfordshire.[9][20] A video of the assault was posted on Snapchat and then YouTube, resulting in an "all-out gang war".[30] Headie responded with a diss track "Know Better".[9]

In March of that year, his concert at the Barbican Centre was shut down by the Metropolitan Police.[9] The police had previously "singled out" his music in connection with rising knife crime in London.[31] In an interview in April, Headie claimed that "Only a fool would say that drill music is the root of the problem of violence in the capital."[31] Associations between London gang culture ("the war between Tottenham and Wood Green"), drill music and social media were examined in a BBC Radio Four programme File on Four 8 March 2020, focused on three violent murders.[32][33]

On 8 January 2020 Adjei was sentenced to six months for possession of a knife and imprisoned for a fourth time.[1] He was released early in April 2020.[34]

On 17 November 2020 Adjei was involved in an altercation with rapper Tion Wayne on board a flight from Dubai to London shortly after boarding.[35]