Krept and Konan


Krept and Konan are a British hip hop duo from London, consisting of Casyo "Krept" Johnson, born from Gipsy Hill and Janayd Karl "Konan" Wilson, born from Thornton Heath, the son of Delroy Wilson otherwise known as 'Jamaica's first child star'. Their first major release was the mixtape Young Kingz, released on 2 September 2013. As of 3 May 2013, Krept and Konan signed a record deal with Virgin EMI Records.
Their debut album The Long Way Home was released on 5 July 2015 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number 2. The duo's highest-charting single is "Freak of the Week" featuring Jeremih, which charted at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. Krept and Konan have both starred together in the film The Intent and reprised their roles in the prequel The Intent 2: The Come Up.

Biography

2005–10: Formation and career beginnings

In 2005, Krept and Konan met and formed a friendship through a mutual friend called AnnRenee. They were making music under the same aliases but were also members of 'Gipset', a gang based in Gipsy Hill, in which Cadet, who was Krept's cousin, was also involved. In 2009 they became a musical duo and started to take music seriously. Shortly after their formation, in 2010 the duo released their first mixtape titled Redrum featuring collaborations from London underground rappers, Killa Ki, Snap and many more.
In 2010 the rap duo released their second mixtape titled Tsunami featuring several mainstream artists including Ghetts, Giggs, Scorcher and Lil Nova.

2011–2014: ''Young Kingz'' and commercial breakthrough

In 2011, they released a cover of Jay-Z's and Kanye West's "Otis" which helped them rise to fame. The video reached five million views in its first five days of being uploaded to YouTube. However, with much pressure received from Jay-Z's legal team the video was removed from the duo's profile. Undeterred by the controversy, they released a cover of Drake and Lil Wayne's "The Motto", launched their own clothing line called Play Dirty and early into 2012 were invited to join the British rapper Skepta on his tour in the UK. They appeared on Tinie Tempah's 2011 mixtape Happy Birthday and in 2013 they released their third mixtape Young Kingz, with features from Chip, Tinie Tempah, G FrSH, Giggs, George the Poet, Yungen, Ari, Yana Toma, Fekky, Siah and Anthony Thomas. The album's promotional single "Don't Waste My Time" rose to fame in January 2014, with notable artists such as French Montana, Wretch 32, Chip, G FrSH, Double S, Lady Leshurr, Yungen, Sneakbo MNEK, Dru Blu, Jacob Banks and Dot Rotten all contributing to remixes of the track. Tinie Tempah also freestyled over the beat on Charlie Sloth's Fire in the Booth.
Winning Best UK Newcomer at the 2013 MOBO Awards was one of the big breaks the duo had. With low promotion compared to other artists. They released "Don't Waste My Time" as a single in March 2014 and it entered the UK Singles Chart at number 154.

2014–present: ''The Long Way Home''

On 29 June 2014 they attended the BET Awards which was held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California and received an award for 'Best International Act: UK' by BET International and beating Dizzee Rascal, Laura Mvula, Rita Ora, Ghetts and Tinie Tempah.
On 3 March 2015 Croydon Advertiser announced the duo as the 39th most powerful people from the Croydon borough, for their pioneering movement and recent success in the music industry.
On 28 March 2015, they released a video for "Certified" featuring Rick Ross. The song serves as the first promotional single from their debut album The Long Way Home. The song was subsequently added to BBC Radio 1Xtra's playlists.
The lead single from The Long Way Home, "Freak of the Week", features vocals from American rapper Jeremih and was released on 28 June 2015. The song entered and peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, making it the duo's first top ten single on the chart and Jeremih's second. 25 June 2015 on YouTube, a remix of "Freak of the Week" was published by reggae and dancehall artists Popcaan & Beenie Man. The album was released on 5 July 2015 through Virgin EMI and Def Jam, and features numerous high-profile musicians, including Ed Sheeran, Skepta, Emeli Sandé and Wiz Khalifa.
In 2019 Krept and Konan also judged the first series of BBC Three's 'The Rap Game UK' - where seven MCs battled to become the first ever signing for Krept and Konans record.

Achievements

In 2013, the duo broke the record for 'Highest-Charting UK album by an Unsigned Act'. The pair earned the title with Young Kingz, which entered into the top 20 in the UK Albums Chart. Following the rap duo success, they won a MOBO award and BET award.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Guest appearances

Tours

YearAwardCategoryTitleResult
2011Official Mixtape AwardsBest Mixtape 2010Tsunami
2012Official Mixtape AwardsBest Video 2011"Otis remix"
2012NXG AwardsBest Video"Otis remix"
2012NXG AwardsBreakthrough Act
2013MOBO AwardsBest UK Newcomer
2013UMA'sBest AlbumYoung Kingz
2013UMA'sBest Group
2013UMA'sBest Hip Hop Act
2013BBC 1Xtra's Mixtape AwardsBest Group
2013BBC 1Xtra's Mixtape AwardsBest MixtapeYoung Kingz
2014Guinness World Records'Highest-Charting UK album by an Unsigned Act'Young Kingz
2014BET Awards 2014Best International Act: UK
2014MOBO AwardsBest Hip-Hop Act
2014MOBO AwardsBest Male Act
2014MOBO AwardsBest Song"Don't Waste My Time"
2014MOBO AwardsBest AlbumYoung Kingz
2014GRM Best of 2014Lyricist of the Year
2014GRM Best of 2014Best Video"Don't Waste My Time"
2015MTV Brand NewBest Newcomer'MTV Brand New Winners 2015'
2015BBC Radio 1's Teen AwardsBest British Group
2016BET AwardsBest International Act: UK
2016----
2016----
2016----
2016----
2016----
2016----
2016----
2016----