Estelle Fanta Swaray (born 18 January 1980) commonly known as Estelle, and formerly as Est’elle, is an English R&B singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer.Estelle was born 18 January 1980 in Hammersmith, London, England. Born of a Senegalese mother and father from Grenada, Estelle grew up in West London in a large family of eight brothers and sisters and an extended family of cousins. During childbirth, Estelle’s mother had a near death experience, which influenced Estelle’s choice for her first album title, The 18th Day
American Boy – 2008
Speaking in February 2008 to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, Estelle explained how the track came about: “We were just messing about in the studio, joking around. And John Legend just said to me ‘Why don’t you write a song about meeting an American boy?’. So I was like ‘Well, that’s pretty easy’ – because I have a lot of male friends out there in New York. And I unwittingly ended up creating a new ladies’ anthem! And Kanye basically just brought his own cheeky self to the track, his own sense of humour. At first he was like ‘How can you rap over a dance beat?’ – and now he’s DONE it!