Tricky | Artist

Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws aka Tricky is a British record producer and rapper born 1968 in bristol, UK. Tricky is well known for his work with fellow Bristol outfit Massive Attack, plus his superb debut solo album Maxinquaye from 1995. The release won Tricky popular acclaim and marked the beginning of a lengthy collaborative partnership with vocalist Martina Topley-Bird. Tricky is a pioneer of trip hop music, and his work is noted for its dark, layered musical style that blends disparate cultural influences and genres, including hip hop, alternative rock and raga. Tricky was born to a Jamaican father and a mixed-race Anglo-Guyanese mother. His mother, Maxine Quaye, died either by suicide or due to epilepsy complications when Tricky was four. His father, Roy Thaws, operated the Studio 17 sound system (formerly known as "Tarzan the High Priest") with his brother Rupert and father Hector. In the mid-1980s, Tricky met DJ Milo and spent time with a sound system called the Wild Bunch which by 1987 evolved into Massive Attack. He received the nickname "Tricky Kid" and at age 18 became a member of the Fresh 4, a rap group built from the Wild Bunch. He also rapped on Massive Attack's acclaimed debut album Blue Lines (1991). In 1993 he pressed a few hundred vinyl copies of a song entitled "Shoebox" recorded together with his friend, the then 15 year old Martina Topley-Bird. He cut it directly off the tape, so that the song is basically "just bassline and hiss". In 1995, the demo got him a contract with Island Records and he started to record his first solo album, Maxinquaye. With the success of the solo album, Tricky left Massive Attack and embarked fully on a solo career which has, to-date, seen the release of 15 studio albums, including collaborations with artists including Terry Hall, Bjork, Gravediggaz, Grace Jones and P.J. Harvey. Standout albums include Maxinquaye, Nearly God, Pre-Millenium Tension and Angels With Dirty Faces. Also highly recommended is the 2002 compilation A Ruff Guide. In his personal life Tricky was in a brief relationship with Icelandic singer-songwriter Bjork in the 1990s and fathered a daughter, Mina Mazy, with Martina Topley-Bird. Mazy struggled with depression and took her own life in 2019, having a profound effect on her father.

Artist Website: trickysite.com

Featured Albums: Tricky

Related Artists: Massive Attack, Horace Andy, Martina Topley-Bird, Bjork

Video Clips: The Only Way, Black Steel, Hell is Round the Corner