1. Lowkey first became known through a series of mixtapes he released before he was 18, before taking a hiatus from the music business.
23 Facts About Lowkey
1. 2.
Lowkey released his second solo album, Soundtrack to the Struggle, independently in 2011.
3.
Lowkey was born in London to an Iraqi mother and an English father.
4.
Lowkey began attending open mic sessions at the Deal Real record shop on Carnaby Street, Central London.
5.
The first time he went he introduced himself as Lowkey and was told there was already a regular there by that name; the two had a rap battle to decide who would continue to use the alias.
6.
In December 2009, Lowkey revealed he would release a second part to "Long Live Palestine" featuring Palestinian rap group DAM, Anglo-Palestinian soloist Shadia Mansour, Narcy from Iraq, Iranian artists Hich Kas and Reveal, Syrian-Lebanese performer Eslam Jawaad and African-American Muslim Hasan Salaam.
7.
On 17 April 2012, Lowkey put his musical career on hiatus, announcing the news on Facebook.
8.
Lowkey said that after months of contemplation, he had decided to "step away from music and concentrate on my studies".
9.
On 29 July 2016, Lowkey released a video for the single, the subject matter of which revolves around the refugee crisis and Europe's response.
10.
Lowkey confirmed that he was in the process of making a second album, titled Soundtrack to the Struggle 2.
11.
Lowkey joined a hip-hop group called Poisonous Poets with which was formed by rapper Reveal and released one self-titled mixtape in 2005.
12.
Poisonous Poets the group consisted of Doc Brown whom Lowkey met at Real Deal records, Reveal, Stylah, Tony D and Therapist.
13.
Lowkey's manager passed on the first two parts of Key to the Game to Jon McClure, frontman of Reverend and The Makers who is an outspoken political activist.
14.
Lowkey is a vocal opponent of Zionism and is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
15.
Lowkey was again detained for half a day by Israeli airport police in July 2010, en route to a number of concerts and musical workshops in refugee camps in the West Bank.
16.
Lowkey has been a prominent member of the Stop the War Coalition and has spoken against the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
17.
Lowkey has been a sharp critic of American and British foreign policy, stating that the two countries are only interested in supporting leaders who are under their influence or are willing to assist them.
18.
Lowkey said American media overlooks those within the country who do not believe in American military supremacy.
19.
In 2012, Lowkey turned down an opportunity to appear on Tim Westwood TV in protest, explaining in an article written for Ceasefire Magazine that he did so because of Westwood's decision to broadcast a segment of his show from Camp Bastion in Afghanistan; Lowkey argued that Westwood's decision amounted to an endorsement of the war in Afghanistan.
20.
In May 2017, Lowkey endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election.
21.
Lowkey was critical of the response to the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 stating that "the tragic event was a result of the injustice and criminality at the heart of Britain's current political system".
22.
Lowkey formed a non-profit organisation, People's Army with fellow rapper Logic, with whom he has made an unreleased album with, and met up with then-Liberal Democrats leader Menzies Campbell as a representative of his local community.
23.
Lowkey has written articles for The Guardian and left-wing website Ceasefire Magazine.