Ady Suleiman

Ady Suleiman, the half-British, half-Tanzanian pop-R&B singer and songwriter, came into the world and grew up in Grantham, the historic market town located in England’s East Midlands. Exposure to pop music and the sizable record collection assembled by his DJ father shaped his early tastes, which began with Jimi Hendrix before expanding to encompass R&B, jazz, hip-hop, reggae, and soul. At age 14 he commenced composing original material, and while attending university in Liverpool he started performing live. After graduation he returned to his hometown, where an active soul scene had taken root, prompting him to commit to music as a profession. BBC Radio DJ Dean Jackson became an early supporter and helped establish his local following, yet national attention arrived when he received Breakthrough Act of the Year at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards. The win opened doors to support appearances alongside Michael Kiwanuka, Laura Mvula, Lianne La Havas, and additional artists. A short-lived contract with Sony resulted in the release of several EPs and singles. During subsequent tours and promotional work, he experienced anxiety and depression and sought professional help. His candid accounts of these struggles, both in song lyrics and public interviews, led to his appointment as an ambassador for the charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). In 2018 he independently issued his debut album Memories, which he wrote entirely himself and co-produced with Eric Appapolay and Grades. Later the same year he delivered the Acoustic EP, containing three tracks one of which was “Been Thru.” The song appeared again in 2019 as a fully produced single paired with “Strange Roses.”