Doc Brown (rapper)
| Doc Brown | |
|---|---|
Brown in 2011
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ben Bailey Smith |
| Born |
21 September 1977 Kilburn, London, England |
| Origin | UK |
| Genres | Comedy, hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian, screenwriter, songwriter, voiceover artist, rapper |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Associated acts | Mikis Michaelides, Mark Ronson, Example, De La Soul, Poisonous Poets, Lowkey, Natalie Williams, Ricky Gervais, The Football Ramble, Kevin Mark Trail, David Brent, Haggis Horns |
| Website | docbrown.co.uk |
Ben Bailey Smith (born 21 September 1977), better known by his stage name Doc Brown, is an English rapper, comedian, actor, screenwriter, radio presenter and voiceover artist. He played DS Joe Hawkins in the TV series Law & Order: UK.
Doc Brown was born Ben Harvey Smith, son of a Jamaican immigrant, Yvonne Bailey, and an Englishman, Harvey Smith, who was 30 years his wife's senior. Raised in the Willesden area of north west London, Smith is the younger brother of novelist and essayist Zadie Smith. Smith attended Hampstead School and Malorees Junior School along with his sister, and was often seen in her shadow. Upon leaving school, Smith decided to pursue a musical career as a rapper. Doc Brown is a graduate of the University of East Anglia. He abandoned his drama degree halfway through to study American history, graduating with a 2.1 Explaining his stage name, he has said: "Doc Brown's been my nickname since school, after the scientist in Back to the Future, because I was gangly and geeky. When I started doing rap battles in my teens, it became my hip-hop handle and it's stuck."Doc Brown also has a younger brother, Luke Smith (Luc Skyz) rapper, lyricist, writer, personal trainer and budding sitcom writer. The younger Smith is the current writer of the lyrics for the BBC 4'oclock club.
Doc Brown began his musical career in 2000 as a battle rapper, competing in live events such as the now defunct Mudlumz, an infamously tough gig based at Dingwalls nightclub in Camden Lock where he battled among others before losing to fellow UK rapper Sway. Smith became a recurring battle champion at the fledgling competition "Jump Off" in 2003, when the now international event was housed underneath Yo! Sushi on Poland Street in London's Soho, moving to the Swiss Centre in Leicester Square. The following year, Smith's growing reputation as a personality of the underground scene made him the host of a monthly event at his friend's record shop Deal Real on Great Marlborough Court, off Carnaby Street in the West End.
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