Estelle Fanta Swaray born 18 January , also known mononymously as Estelle , is a British singer, rapper and actress. A moderate critical and commercial success, it peaked at number 35 on the UK Albums Chart. She then signed with American singer John Legend 's Homeschool Records, in a joint venture with Atlantic Records to release her second album, Shine , which effectively tailored to international audiences by entering the US Billboard , as well as other worldwide charts.
The album served as her final release on a major label. Estelle provided both the speaking and singing voice for the character Garnet in the animated series Steven Universe β , a role she reprised in Steven Universe: The Movie and Steven Universe Future β Estelle hosts and presents The Estelle Show on Apple Music , [ 7 ] which has run for over episodes. Swaray was born and raised in Hammersmith , London. She is the eldest of nine children. Swaray's parents were very religious when she was growing up, and secular music was not allowed in the family's home.
Instead, spiritual musicβparticularly American gospelβand West African music were what Swaray grew up listening to. However, she would sometimes listen to hip hop when not at home. She spent her childhood listening to her parents' reggae records and her aunt's soul collection before discovering hip hop.
She used to be a nanny before she began her music career. Estelle got her start in London's renowned hip-hop record store Deal Real. Her fellow employees encouraged her to take a chance and get on the mic on-stage; soon she was playing numerous London clubs and appearing with the likes of Manuva and Rodney P.
Local hero Skitz asked her to appear on his album, Countryman , and soon she landed on albums by artists such as The 57th Dynasty and Blak Twang.
