The Sway

Derek Andrew "Sway" DaSafo, a British hip-hop artist of Ghanaian origin, first drew notice via independently issued mixtapes and then secured a 2005 MOBO award that cast him among the foremost prospects for U.K. rap. Although his mother was merely passing through London en route from Amsterdam to Ghana when he entered the world, DaSafo grew up in the city, specifically in the North London district of Hornsey that lies between affluent Murray Hill and the impoverished Wood Green. His deliberately shaped rap identity mirrors this contrast by merging a literate, introspective stance with an astute, streetwise outlook. When paired with his expansive, sly wit and frequently restless, energetic flow, the combination yields an intricate yet magnetic presence that echoes an intellectual Ludacris or a more contemplative Twista, making the swift spread of his underground reputation into broader recognition unsurprising.

Although his singular command of the microphone proved immediately striking, DaSafo initially concentrated on production. At age 15 he entered London's underground hip-hop scene by crafting beats for fellow rappers, only shifting to lyric writing after peers urged him forward on the basis of his battle freestyles. Two home-computer mixtapes issued on his own Dcypha Productions imprint—This Is My Promo, Vol. 1 in 2004 and Vol. 2 in 2005—received rotation on London's pirate stations and later on the BBC's urban digital outlet 1Xtra. Public attention intensified in September 2005 when he claimed Best Hip-Hop Act at the tenth annual MOBO ceremony, defeating 50 Cent and the Game in an unexpected victory while still unsigned and without an album. Despite ensuing major-label interest, he elected to stay independent; his first proper album, This Is My Demo, nevertheless appeared the next year on DCypha in partnership with All City Music, preceded by the teaser single "Up Your Speed," itself a posse-cut remix of a track from the earlier Promo series. The album title extended the overarching self-referential motif running through his work, as he put it: "my whole career is going to be based on my career."

Commercial results fell short of the trajectory that might have led directly to a major-label This Is My Album; the set peaked at number 78 before sliding to number 152 in its second week, yet it yielded several underground successes such as "Flo' Fashion," the bottom-of-the-Top 40 "Little Derek," and "Up Your Speed," while "Products" and the file-sharing satire "Download" also appeared as singles. Critics responded warmly, placing the record on the twelve-album shortlist for the 2006 Mercury Prize and generating a further MOBO nomination plus a BET award for Best U.K. Hip-Hop Act. Sway opened for the Streets on their 2006 U.K. tour and joined Mike Skinner on the Mitchell Brothers' "Harvey Nicks," yet he also reached beyond British hip-hop, linking with Lupe Fiasco, Chamillionaire, and Small World of Ludacris' DTP crew, and stepped outside the genre altogether by working with ska veterans Madness and electronic duo Stanton Warriors.

During 2007 he joined Akon's Konvicted imprint, issued the harder-edged One for the Journey EP—explicitly subtitled "This Is Not My Second Album"—that showcased several of the prior collaborations, floated potential sessions with Akon, Doug E. Fresh, Mark Ronson, and Pharrell, and confirmed that The Signature would arrive in 2008.