Craig David
*Craig David was born on this date in 1981. He is a Black Jewish British singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ, and record producer.
Craig Ashley David was born in Southampton, Hampshire, the son of Tina (née Loftus), a retail assistant, and George David, a carpenter, and grew up in the Holyrood estate. David's father is Grenadian, and David's mother is Jewish and related to the founders of the Accurist watch-making company; David's maternal grandfather was an Orthodox Jew. David's parents separated when he was eight, and his mother brought him up. He attended Bellemoor School and Southampton City College. Other students at school bullied him. He wrote and released the song "Johnny" in 2005 about his sad memories of being bullied. David's father played bass in a reggae band called Ebony Rockers. As a teen, David began accompanying his father to local dance clubs, where DJs let him take the microphone.
David's debut studio album, Born to Do It, was released in 2000, after which he released five studio albums and worked with various artists such as Sting, Kano, and Jay Sean. David has 20 UK Top 40 singles, and seven UK Top 40 albums, selling over 15,000,000 records worldwide as a solo artist. David has been nominated for fourteen Brit Awards: five times for Best British Male and twice receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. In September 2017, David released his seventh studio album, The Time Is Now, which was released in January 2018. The Time Is Now debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, kept off the top spot by The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. In May 2019, David released the single "When You Know What Love Is".
In July 2019, David made a cameo appearance in Love Island, performing the single as a DJ. His UK garage single "Do You Miss Me Much" was released on August 23, 2019. On December 31, 2019, David performed at BBC One's New Year Live concert at Westminster Central Hall with his full band and TS5 DJ set. In September 2020, David signed a global publishing deal with New York-based Round Hill Music. The agreement includes all of David's music catalogs and a future agreement to see all of his new music administered by the company.
David is also an avid supporter of Southampton F.C., his hometown football team. On March 24, 2010 (World Tuberculosis Day), the World Health Organization appointed Craig David as a Goodwill Ambassador against tuberculosis. His first activity in this role was to travel to South Africa to learn more about tuberculosis, where he met people suffering from the disease and those who have recovered, and scientists who have dedicated their lives to fighting tuberculosis.
David stated that his mission is to help overcome the social stigma of TB to combat the disease. In January 2021, it was announced that Craig David would appear in an E-Sports series in a campaign with Mclaren and British American Tobacco. Craig was also criticized by Action on Smoking and Health in 2013 for appearing in another Big Tobacco-funded appearance in Penang, Malaysia, where Japan Tobacco International sponsored a concert. On 30th December 2020, David was announced on the Queen’s New Year Honors List to receive an MBE in recognition of his services to music.
