Mike Skinner was born in North London and grew up in West Heath, Birmingham. He started listening to hip-hop aged eight, with the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill, and began writing songs aged fifteen. Later he moved to Brixton, London and in 2001 signed a five album record deal as The Streets. The Streets' first album 'Original Pirate Material' was nominated for both The Mercury Prize and Best Album at the BRIT Awards. Skinner went on to record tracks such as 'Dry Your Eyes' and 'Fit But You Know It', which became instant classics.In 2011 Skinner released his fifth album 'Computers and Blues' to critical acclaim, and announced he would be putting The Streets on hiatus, to work on other projects.