Young Fathers

History

Formed in Edinburgh in 2000s by Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham 'G' Hastings, the group started performing in nightclubs when the band members were all in their teens. In 2005, the trio released a single under the name 3Style prior to becoming Young Fathers in 2008.

In 2012, they signed to LA-based label Anticon and released their introductory mixtapes, Tape One and Tape Two, with Tape Two winning the Scottish Album of the Year Award ("The SAY Award").

The trio then signed to Big Dada and released their debut album, Dead, which was released in 2014. The album gained critical attention and went on to win the Mercury Prize. Dead entered the UK albums chart at number 35 and topped the independent UK album chart.

Following an extensive world tour the band decamped to Berlin to begin work on their second album, White Men Are Black Men Too, which was released in April 2015. It peaked at number 41 on the UK Albums Chart.

In June 2017 Young Fathers played in the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre as part of M.I.A.'s Meltdown Festival.

Six tracks on the T2 Trainspotting soundtrack feature Young Fathers, including "Only God Knows", written specifically for the film. In a statement the director Danny Boyle described the song as "the heartbeat for the film".

Young Fathers' third studio album, Cocoa Sugar, was announced with the single "In My View" on 17 January 2018. The album was released on British independent label Ninja Tune on 9 March 2018. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 28, making it the band's highest-charting album. It won the Scottish Album of the Year Award for 2018.

The trio released their fourth studio album, Heavy Heavy, via Ninja Tune on 3 February 2023. The album peaked at number 7 on the UK Albums Chart, won the Scottish Album of the Year Award, earned the band three Brit Award nominations and was also shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.

While not an overtly political band, Young Fathers have spoken about issues such as racism and the treatment of refugees. Due to their support of the BDS movement, the band was dropped from the 2018 Ruhrtriennale line-up.

The band were featured on the FIFA 19 and FIFA 23 soundtracks, with the songs "Border Girl" and "Rice" respectively.

In May 2025, the group announced that they had composed the score for Danny Boyle's horror sequel 28 Years Later. The film was released in the UK on 20 June 2025 to positive reviews.

Members

• Alloysious Massaquoi (Vocals, percussion) was born in Liberia and moved to Edinburgh at the age of four, where he attended Boroughmuir High School.
• Kayus Bankole (Vocals) was born in Edinburgh to Nigerian parents. He spent several years living in Maryland and Nigeria before moving back to the city of his birth, in his teens. He went on to attend Boroughmuir High School in Edinburgh, the same school as Alloysious and the two became close friends. Bankole has commented that Scotland's history in relation to slavery should be taught in schools to help overcome systemic racism.
• Graham "G" Hastings (Vocals, production) was born in Edinburgh and grew up in the North Edinburgh housing scheme of Drylaw.

|File:Festival des Vieilles Charrues 2018 - Young Fathers - 008.jpg |Alloysious Massaquoi |File:Festival des Vieilles Charrues 2018 - Young Fathers - 005.jpg |Kayus Bankole |File:Festival des Vieilles Charrues 2018 - G. Hastings - 041.jpg |Graham "G" Hastings

Touring Musicians

• Steven Morrison - Drums (2009–present)
• Edwin McLachlan - Drums (2023)
• Kimberley Mandido - Backing vocals (2023–present)
• Amber Joy - Backing vocals (2023–present)
• Callum Easter - Guitar, keyboards (2023–present)

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Soundtracks

Singles

Remixes

• "Girlfriend (Young Fathers Remix)" by Phoenix from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Remix Collection) (2009)
• "Nicotine Love (StraightFace Remix)" by Tricky (2014)

Guest appearances

Music videos

Awards and nominations

2016: Berlin Music Video Awards, nominated in the Best Performer category for 'VOODOO IN MY BLOOD'

Notes

References

References

1. MacInnes, Paul. (4 April 2015). "Young Fathers Tour South Africa". [[The Guardian]].
2. Didcock, Barry. (20 June 2014). "SAY Award winners Young Fathers talk friendship, hip hop and civil war". [[The Herald (Glasgow).
3. Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. (30 October 2014). "Mercury prize 2014: Young Fathers defy the odds to win". [[The Guardian]].
4. MacInnes, Paul. (8 December 2015). "Best albums of 2015: No 9 – White Men Are Black Men Too by Young Fathers". [[The Guardian]].
5. "WHITE MEN ARE BLACK MEN TOO". www.officialcharts.com.
6. Murray, Robin. (19 April 2017). "Soulwax, Young Fathers To Play M.I.A.'s Meltdown". [[Clash Magazine]].
7. Minsker, Evan. (24 January 2017). "Young Fathers Share New Track "Only God Knows" From T2 Trainspotting". [[Pitchfork (website).
8. Robinson, Collin. (10 January 2017). "Trainspotting 2 Soundtrack Revealed". [[Stereogum]].
9. Daly, Rhian. (17 January 2017). "Young Fathers announce new album 'Cocoa Sugar' and share new single 'In My View'". [[NME]].
10. (7 September 2018). "Young Fathers win Scottish Album of the Year for Cocoa Sugar". BBC.
11. Ruiz, Matthew Ismael. (20 October 2022). "Young Fathers Announce New Album Heavy Heavy, Share Video for New Song: Watch".
12. (25 February 2018). "Young Fathers: 'Everybody has a dark side. We're all complicit…'".
13. Alex Marshall. (July 2018). "Unwelcome Sound on Germany's Stages: Musicians Who Boycott Israel". [[The New York Times]].
14. (11 September 2018). "FIFA 19 Soundtrack: This Year's Complete Playlist".
15. (2022-09-22). "FIFA 23 soundtrack: Artists, songs & music on new game revealed {{!}} Goal.com UK".
16. Skinner, Tom. (2025-05-23). "Young Fathers have written the score for '28 Years Later'".
17. (17 March 2018). "Interview: Young Fathers on new album Cocoa Sugar".
18. Davidson, Gina. (31 October 2014). "Young Fathers take on the world after Mercury win". [[Edinburgh Evening News]].
19. "Slavery".
20. (18 June 2020). "Young Fathers star: Scotland's slavery past should be taught in every school".
21. (2 January 2020). "Young Fathers star shines a light on Scotland and slavery".
22. Bravo, Amber. (28 September 2012). "Young Fathers "Deadline" MP3". [[The Fader]].
23. "Discografie Young Fathers Flemish". Ultratop.be. Hung Medien.
24. "Discografie Young Fathers Wallonie". Ultratop.be. Hung Medien.
25. "Discographie von Young Fathers". GfK Entertainment.
26. Steffen Hung. "Discography Young Fathers". irishcharts.com.
27. "Discography Young Fathers". hitparade.ch.
28. "Young Fathers – Chart History: Top Current Albums". billboard.com.
29. "Young Fathers – Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". billboard.com.
30. (13 February 2023). "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 13 February 2023". [[Australian Recording Industry Association]].
31. "Discographie Young Fathers". Hung Medien.
32. "Young Fathers 'I Heard' - Okayplayer".
33. "Young Fathers 'Queen Is Dead' - Okayplayer".
34. Promonews. "Massive Attack ft. Young Fathers 'Voodoo In My Blood' by Ringan Ledwidge {{!}} Videos".