Plan B (musician)
Plan B (born 22 October 1983 in London, England; real name Benjamin Paul Drew) is a British hip hop, soul musician and actor. He became internationally known in 2010 with the song She Said.
Live
Drew grew up in the London borough of Forest Gate. His father Paul Ballance played in a local punk rock band, his mother worked for a local authority. When Ben was six years old, his father left the family. The young Ben Drew often felt like a social outsider, as his family belonged to neither the middle nor the working class.
At the age of 14, Drew began teaching himself to play guitar. Shortly after, he wrote his first R&B songs, but turned to hip-hop and rap at 18. His first single, Kidz / Dead and Buried, inspired by the death of ten-year-old Damilola Taylor, brought him the attention he needed to sign a record deal.
Drew's first mixtape, It's Time 4 Plan B, was released in Hip Hop Connection magazine in May 2006. This was followed by Plan B's first television appearance on the show Later..., where he performed an acoustic version of the song "Mama (Loves a Crackhead)". Later that same year, Plan B released his debut album Who Needs Actions When You Got Words, which immediately entered the UK Albums Chart at number 30. The album received consistently positive reviews, including The Guardian giving it all five possible stars. With End Credits, a collaboration with Chase & Status, he placed his first top 10 hit in the UK.
Four years later, he reached number 1 in the UK with his album The Defamation of Strickland Banks. In mid-2010, Drew achieved his international breakthrough with the single release She Said, which also became a success in German-speaking countries.
At the 2011 BRIT Awards, Plan B won the award for British male solo artist.
Plan B announced his latest album, Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose, for Spring 2018 towards the end of 2017.
Personal
He has a daughter (* 2013) together with his girlfriend of many years.
Filmography
- 2005: Walking After Acconci: Redirected Approaches
- 2008: Streets of London - Day of Retribution
- 2009: Harry Brown
- 2010: Plan B: Prayin'
- 2010: 4.3.2.1
- 2010: Relentless Boardmasters
- 2012: Ill Manors
- 2012: The Crime
