Richard Rawson (born 5 February 1987), better known by his stage name Fazer, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and DJ. He is popularly known as a member of hip hop trio N-Dubz, with whom he released three studio albums and won four MOBO Awards.
Fazer | |
|---|---|
 Fazer (left) performing as part of N-Dubz in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Rawson[1] |
| Born | 5 February 1987 London, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instrument(s) | |
| Years active | 2000—present |
| Labels | |
| Website | iamfazer |
Early life edit
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 edit
Fazer is a member of hip hop trio N-Dubz, from the age of 11. N-Dubz is known as one of the first breakthrough acts for UK Urban Music. They released three platinum-selling studio albums and won five 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. In May 2022 the group officially reformed announcing a UK arena tour.
On 3 March 2012, Fazer was featured on BBC One 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.[citation needed] 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. 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, 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 edit
Rawson 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]
On 19 February 2023, Rawson revealed on his Instagram, that his partner had given birth to twins.
Discography edit
Singles edit
| Single | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [citation needed] | ||||||||||||
| "Killer" | 2012 | 17 | Non-album singles | |||||||||
| "6foot8 freestyle" | 2013 | — | ||||||||||
| "Fireflies" (featuring Tom Parker) | 2014 | — | ||||||||||
| "I Woke Up" | 2017 | — | ||||||||||
| "Bad in Real Life" | 2018 | — | ||||||||||
| "UFO" | 2019 | — | ||||||||||
| "Give It Away" | — | |||||||||||
| "You Wanna Ride" | 2020 | — | ||||||||||
| "Money Right" | — | |||||||||||
| "Tears" | 2022 | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released | ||||||||||||
Production and writing credits edit
Tulisa - The Female Boss edit
- 02. "Young"
- 04. "Damn"
- 06. "Live Your Life"
- 07. "Visa"
Jessie J - Alive edit
- 16. "Magnetic"
Tulisa - Non-album Single edit
- 01. "Living Without You"
BTS - Wings edit
- 10. "Lost"
Music videos edit
| 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 edit
- ^ Harmsworth, Andrei (16 May 2012). "Fazer: Tulisa and I may get back together at some stage in the future". Metro. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ ROAR Global – Press Archive[permanent dead link]. Shalitglobal.com (17 January 2010). Retrieved on 1 December 2010.
- ^ "Tulisa opens up about Fazer split - UTV Entertainment". U.tv. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
- ^ "Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
- ^ "Dappy - No Regrets (Official Video)". YouTube. 5 August 2011. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^ "Fazer - Killer". YouTube. 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ "SB.TV - Dappy - Tarzan 2 (I'm Coming) [Music Video". YouTube. 7 July 2012. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ "Dappy - Tarzan 2.5 (Versace Remix) [Music Video]: SBTV". YouTube. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2012.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ "Fazer | Pound Cake Freestyle [Music Video]: SBTV". YouTube. 14 November 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ "Richard Rawson feat. Tom Parker - Fireflies (Official Video)". YouTube. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ^ "YouTube". M.youtube.com. 16 April 2015. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^ "Dappy ft Tulisa | At It (Tarzan 2.75) [Music Video]: SBTV - YouTube". M.youtube.com. 26 December 2015. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^ "Fazer - I Woke Up (Music Video) | @ImRichardRawson - YouTube". M.youtube.com. 24 March 2017. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2020.