Mickey Lightfoot

Mickey Lightfoot, whose real name is Osei Amponsa, is an English rapper, singer-songwriter, musician and producer.[1] His music is a blend of future hip-hop, afrobeats and alternative grime.[2] Lightfoot released his EP To Kill A Flockin Bird on Peckish in 2013[3] that featured Darq E Freaker and Azekel and led to mixes for BBC Radio 1.[4] Lightfoot, along with Neneh Cherry, was named one of "10 Artists to watch in 2014" by New York's cultural influencers Afropunk.[5]

Mickey Lightfoot
Background information
OriginLondon, England
GenresAlternative hip hop, experimental hip hop, electronic, soul, grime, Afrobeats
InstrumentsVocals, keyboard, bass, guitar
Years active2011 (2011)–present
Websitethisisml.com
MembersOsei, Akara The Music, Neil White

Early life

Mickey Lightfoot was born in Brockley, South London to Ghanaian parents. His mother Comfort Akuse was a seamstress for Vivienne Westwood at one point and his father Alex Amponsah was a pioneering West African political radical.[6] Despite showing a strong interest in football and music during his school years, he pursued studies in science. and graduated with a degree in Physiology and Pharmacology from Bristol University.[7]

Early career

Mickey Lightfoot sought refuge in Bristol. There he promoted club nights which led to music making. He was later accepted into the Red Bull Music Academy, an establishment that boast an alumni that includes the likes of Flying Lotus, Evian Christ and Hudson Mohawke.[8] Some of his early releases resulted in coverage by the British publication The Guardian[9] Since then, the live set up has organically grown to include Akara The Music and Neil White, former bass player for Canadian band The Carps.

Artistry

Lightfoot's musical style has been described as being based in hip hop, blended with sounds from the garage, grime, electronic music, and R&B that bridges a gap between soul and rap.[10] Sonically hefty, it requires careful listening, challenging why some listeners put strict categories in place for music.[11] Lightfoot has said that Afrocentrism is the skeleton of everything he does.[12]

Influences

His influences range from Tricky-esque quirkiness to Andre 3000 style glamour.[13]

Mickey Lightfoot combines Ghanaian highlife influences with UK grime tendencies[14] incorporating the 90's hip hop and the garage influences from formative years[15]

Releases

To Kill A Flockin Bird was released digitally on 6 October 2013 on Peckish.[16] The EP was well received across tastemaker blogs such as Hypetrack.[17] and Rankin's Hunger TV[18]

Appearances

In June 2014, Lightfoot appeared at the Plissken Festival in Athens, Greece,[19] and in June he appeared at the Lunatic Festival in Lüneburg, Germany,[20] and also played Field Day festival that same year.[21] Past performances include Sonar Festival as well as SXSW.

Other work

Lightfoot has writing credits for producer Adamski.[22] They have also assisted the likes of M.I.A, Brandt Brauer Frick, Om'mas Keith, The Cool Kids and Bok Bok.

Discography

Singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
"L.O.S.T" 2013 –––— Non-album single

EPs
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
To Kill A Flockin Bird EP 2013 –––— EP

References
  1. "Moodboard Mickey Lightfoot". Planet Notion. Planet Notion. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  2. "Mickey Lightfoot". Elasticartist.
  3. "Mickey Lightfoot - To Kill A Flockinbird [EP]". Soulculture. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  4. "Monki". BBC.
  5. "Afropunk's 10 Artist to watch 2014". Afropunk. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  6. "ML(Mickey Lightfoot)". elasticartists.net. elasticartists. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  7. "Konzertburo Schoneberg". Schonberg.de. Schonberg. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  8. "Mickey Lightfoot". GreatEscapeFestival.
  9. "New music : ML - Way Before". TheGuardian.
  10. "Mickey Lightfoot LOST Video". earmilk.com. earmilk. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  11. "London's Mickey Lightfoot Makes WTF Grime". Mtviggy.com. Mtviggy. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  12. "Mickey Lightfoot Live". The Beatjuice.com. TheBeatjuice. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  13. "Mickey Lightfoot Lost & Found". 125 Magazine.
  14. "Ghana Meets UK Grime Mickey Lightfoot x Darqefreaker". okayafrica. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  15. "Mickey Lightfoot To Kill A Flockin Bird EP Stream". hangout.altsounds.com. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  16. "Mickey Lightfoot To Kill A Flockin Bird Mickey Lightfoot". itunes.
  17. "Mickey Lightfoot featuring Darq E Freaker - L.O.S.T". Hypetrak. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  18. "Tunage: Mickey Lightfoot feat Darq E Freaker - 'L.O.S.T'". HungerTV. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  19. "Mickey Lightfoot". plisskenfestival.gr. plisskenfestival. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  20. "Mickey Lightfoot". lunaticfestival.de. Lunatic Festival. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  21. "Mickey Lightfoot on Red Bull stage Field Day 2014". Fielddayfestivals.com. Field Day Festivasl. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  22. "MTV EMAs 2012 : Viktoria Modesta in Vivienne Westwood". HungerTV. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
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