Fazer (rapper)

Richard Rawson, better known by his stage name Fazer (born 5 February 1987) is an English rapper, producer, DJ and songwriter. He is popularly known as the member of hip hop trio N-Dubz releasing three studio albums and winning numerous MOBO awards with the group. Rawson has said that whilst growing up his biggest influences were Tupac Shakur, Biggie, Rakim, T.I., and Jay-Z.

"Richard Rawson" redirects here. For other persons with the name, see Richard Rawson (disambiguation).

Fazer
Birth nameRichard Rawson[1]
Also known asRichard Rawson
Born (1987-02-05) 5 February 1987
Camden, Greater London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • actor
Instruments
Years active2000—present
Labels
  • Polydor Records (2007–08)
  • AATW (2008–present)
  • Def Jam (2010–11)
  • Island Records (2011–present)
  • Sky's The Limit Entertainment (2013–present)
Associated actsN-Dubz Tom Parker
WebsiteIAmFazer.com

Early life

Fazer is the son of an English father and Jamaican mother, and was brought up in Camden Town, London. Fazer first met Dappy when they started attending the same karate class, becoming best friends at school. They attended Haverstock School,[2] with third member Tulisa Contostavlos (Dappy's cousin) attending the school for a while as well. It was at school that the trio became close friends and formed N-Dubz.

Career

N-Dubz

Fazer was a member of hip hop trio N-Dubz, from the age of 11. N-Dubz are known as one of the first breakthrough acts for UK Urban Music. They released three platinum-selling studio albums and won 5 MOBO awards. N-Dubz released their first album, Uncle B, in 2008, followed by Against All Odds in 2009, and Love.Live.Life in 2010. In 2011 the band announced a hiatus to focus on solo projects, after a hugely successful UK Arena Tour and a compilation album Greatest Hits. The group have said on many occasions that they will reunite.

Solo career, Sky's the Limit and Singles

On 3 March 2012, Fazer was featured on BBC1's show Urban Classics where he performed his version of Englishman in New York originally by Sting and he also performed a tribute to Whitney Houston with Skepta. About two weeks later, Fazer remixed Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye Fazer shot a video for his debut single "Killer" on 29 May 2012, released on 26 August 2012.

In 2013, Fazer and his production partner, Peter Ibsen, both announced the opening of their production company, Sky's The Limit Entertainment (STL). Fazer released a track '6-foot 8 (freestyle)' under the new company's name. The pair produced songs for Fazer himself and other artists such as Tulisa , Rihanna , Rita Ora and Jessie J .

On 12 July 2013, Fazer headlined the Yahoo! stage at the Yahoo! Wireless Festival, and performed songs such as Killer, Fireflies, Planetary and an N-Dubz medley. On 10 August 2013, Fazer performed at the BBC Urban Classics Prom alongside Wretch 32. He performed Fireflies and Movie. On 5 February 2014, he announced that he would now be releasing music under his real name Richard Rawson. In July 2014, Richard Rawson released his single 'Fireflies' which features vocals by Tom Parker of The Wanted. On the track Fazer raps about his journey so far in music. The song is about hope and achieving dreams. On 24 March 2017 'Fazer' released a song 'I Woke Up'.

Personal life

Rawson apparently had a crush on Tulisa in school, until he realised that she was Dappy's cousin. The pair were in a relationship from mid-2010 until February 2012, when they broke up during a holiday together, after they fell apart.[3]

In January 2013, it was announced he was dating model Ashley Emma, and that she was six months pregnant. On 20 February 2013 their daughter Ava Rose Rawson was born.[4]

Discography
See also: N-Dubz discography

Singles
  • Killer
  • Fireflies (feat. Tom Parker)
  • I Woke Up
  • Bad in real life
  • Give it away
  • UFO
  • You Wanna Ride
  • Money Right

Music
List of music in which Fazer appears in
(not including N-Dubz videos).
Title Year Director(s) Artist Ref.
"No Regrets" 2011 Benny Boom Dappy [5]
"Killer" 2012 Jack Fresh Fazer [6]
"I'm Coming (Tarzan 2)" 2012 Morgan Keyz Dappy [7]
"6foot8 (Freestyle)" 2013 Richard Rawson Fazer
"Tarzan 2.5" 2013 Morgan Keyz Dappy [8]
"Pound Cake Freestyle" 2013 Morgan Keyz Fazer [9]
"Fireflies (ft. Tom Parker)" 2014 Richard Rawson Richard Rawson [10]
"Proud" 2015 Pierre Jermaine Young Spray ft. Wretch 32 and Chip [11]
"At It Again (Tarzan 2.75)" 2015 Vertex Dappy ft. Tulisa [12]
"I Woke Up" 2017 Aaron Smalls (360 Capture House) Fazer [13]

References
  1. Harmsworth, Andrei (16 May 2012). "Fazer: Tulisa and I may get back together at some stage in the future". Metro. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  2. ROAR Global – Press Archive. Shalitglobal.com (17 January 2010). Retrieved on 1 December 2010.
  3. "Tulisa opens up about Fazer split - UTV Entertainment". U.tv. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  4. "Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  5. "Dappy - No Regrets (Official Video)". YouTube. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  6. "Fazer - Killer". YouTube. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  7. "SB.TV - Dappy - Tarzan 2 (I'm Coming) [Music Video". YouTube. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  8. "Dappy - Tarzan 2.5 (Versace Remix) [Music Video]: SBTV". YouTube. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  9. "Fazer | Pound Cake Freestyle [Music Video]: SBTV". YouTube. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  10. "Richard Rawson feat. Tom Parker - Fireflies (Official Video)". YouTube. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  11. "YouTube". M.youtube.com. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  12. "Dappy ft Tulisa | At It (Tarzan 2.75) [Music Video]: SBTV - YouTube". M.youtube.com. 26 December 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  13. "Fazer - I Woke Up (Music Video) | @ImRichardRawson - YouTube". M.youtube.com. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
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