The 18th Day..

Heaped with praise from all corners of the media, three time winner of the UK Hip Hop Awards, & the most respected female rapper in Britain, Estelle has had a lot to live up to. Regarded for some time as a future star, the young MC finally lived up to the hype with her debut single '1980', one of the huge summer hits for 2004. With her debut album 'The 18th Day' she's set to complete her mission to take on the mainstream & win. Unlike other Brit-hop contenders she doesn't feel the need to use the 'from the ghetto' template & is instead content to let the positivity of her music 'keep it real'. So on 'Free' we see her call on the nation's youth to do something with their lives (like 'Why Don't You' for the new millennium), whilst 'Change Is Coming' teaches life's lessons with majestic success & 'Gonna Win' works as an anthem of self-belief for anyone feeling down trodden. 'The 18th Day' is a huge milestone in British hip-hop - a credible record that never panders to the 'Americanisation' of the scene. Estelle is set to be around for a long, long time. V2. 2004.