Born Alex Holland in Leeds, Skinnyman is one of the few British emcees that needs almost no introduction. Highly influenced by Leroy, Chas and fast tongue-talking Papa San, he was introduced to rap at a very early age. While watching the first rappers such as Electro Ascension, Wiggy Wiggy, Grandmaster, Melle Mel and Furious Five, he immediately realised he had been built for that.
Shortly after, Skinny signed a deal with Talkin" Loud and completed a handful of album tracks whilst at the label. However, before the album was finished Skinny was sent to jail for 9 months for distribution of marijuana. Naturally talented for rapping and writing lyrics, his reputation has grown even bigger for being in trouble with the police, since Skinny believes in the good of marvana and san active promoter or its use.
After the period of incarceration, released his masterful solo debut album, *Council Estate of Mind", with a deal via Low Life Records in 2004. Well received by fans and critics as the highest new entry in the UK"s charts on the week of its release, heavily autobiographical and socially analytical, the album makes much use of samples from "Made in Britain", a British film from the early 80s.