Charlie Ian Paul Rouillon (born 20 August 1981), known professionally as Charlie Sloth, is a British DJ, hype man, producer and TV presenter.

Charlie Sloth
Rouillon in 2016
Rouillon in 2016
Background information
Birth nameCharlie Ian Paul Rouillon
Born (1981-08-20) 20 August 1981 (age 43)
OriginCamden, London, England
Genres
Occupations
LabelsGrimey Limey
Websitecharliesloth.com

Early life

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Charlie Ian Paul Rouillon was born on 20 August 1981.[1][2] He was raised in the London Borough of Camden and attended Haverstock School.[3] He is an avid supporter of Liverpool F.C.[4]

Career

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Most of Sloth's career as a radio DJ has been spent on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra, presenting The Rap Show on Saturday nights[5] and his weeknight late show The 8th. He was previously a presenter on the weekday drivetime show on BBC Radio 1Xtra.[6]

However, before this, Sloth was a cast member on BBC Series Tower Block Dreams which aired in January 2004. It was this which was his first major public appearance, however he had also been on the pirate radio circuit too - producing music under the alias of Sloth.

His trademark freestyle brand, Fire in the Booth, has been described as "...a real mark of prestige in the scene, especially for newcomers" with MCs from grime and hip-hop coming into the studio to perform.[5] Akala, Avelino, Devlin, Professor Green, K Koke, Lowkey, Mic Righteous, Bugzy Malone, Big Narstie, Tinie Tempah, Wretch 32, Drake, Big Shaq, Migos and others have performed on Fire in the Booth.[5] Canadian rapper Drake's appearance was "...four or five years in the making", with Sloth noting in 2018 that it was one of his favourite moments of the show.[7]

2007 – 2008

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Sloth came to notability in 2007 after he won Most Original Video at the CraveFest Awards Canada for music video "Guided Tour of Camden".[8]

He also created a weekly online video series Being Charlie Sloth, which was picked up by WorldStarHipHop.com. The show ran for 59 episodes.[9]

In 2008, Sloth won Best Rap/Hip-Hop/R&B Unsigned Artist at the CraveFest awards in Canada.[10] He released Hard Being Good in the same year.[11]

2012 – Current

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Sloth presented the daily drivetime show on BBC Radio 1Xtra from September 2012[12] until November 2017

On 6 November 2017, Sloth began presenting a new late-night show, The 8th, which was simulcast on Radio 1 and 1Xtra from Monday to Thursday from 9 until 11 pm.[13]

On 3 October 2018, Sloth announced he would be leaving BBC 1Xtra, with his last planned show being on 3 November. This was however cut short on 20 October when Radio 1 "agreed with Charlie" that he would not be completing his remaining 10 shows.[14][15] This followed Charlie Sloth controversially "storming the stage" at the Audio and Productions Awards show on 18 October.[16] On 14 January 2019, Sloth announced via Instagram that he would be joining Apple Music and Beats 1 and bringing Fire In The Booth over. He also hosts the Rap Show and curates playlists for Apple Music.[17][18][19][20]

In August 2020 it was announced that Sloth had signed a deal with Jay Z's Roc Nation. The deal is a partnership which sees Roc Nation look after all of his assets on a worldwide deal.[21]

Personal life

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Political views

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In November 2019, along with 34 other musicians, Sloth signed a letter endorsing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2019 UK general election with a call to end austerity.[22][23]

Discography

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Albums

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Mixtapes

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  • The Big Boot (2004)
  • Secret Society (2006)
  • Hard Being Good (2008)
  • The Black Book (2010)
  • Hood Heat Vol. 1 (2014)[25]
  • Hood Heat Vol. 2 (2015)[25]

References

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  1. ^ "Charlie Ian Paul ROUILLON personal appointments – Find and update company information – GOV.UK". Companies House. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  2. ^ Rouillon, Charlie [@CharlieSloth] (19 August 2017). "With tomorrow being my birthday come party with me tonight in Brighton @coalition_btn ITS GONNA BE A ZOO!!!! 🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "Review music: Bring Charlie Sloth | Web show | Haverstock school pupil | hip-hop". www.thecnj.com. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Premier League predictions: Do these Radio 1 and 1Xtra DJs know their football?". BBC Sport. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Gibbins, Paul (1 March 2016). "Which MC Recorded the Greatest 'Fire in the Booth'?". Noisey. Vice. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Charlie Sloth gets new late night entertainment show on Radio 1 and 1Xtra". Newsbeat. 5 October 2017. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Charlie Sloth leaving Radio 1 and 1Xtra immediately". 20 October 2018. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  8. ^ Chartattack: Cravefest awards, 21 September 2007[usurped]
  9. ^ "Being Charlie Sloth #34 – Need More Hour In A Day (Life of an Independent British Rap Artist)". Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  10. ^ "CraveFest 2008 Music Video Award Winners!". cravefest.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008.
  11. ^ Administrator. "- Charlie Sloth – Hard Being Good [Audio]". britishhiphop.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  12. ^ Sweney, Mark (25 May 2012). "Tim Westwood 'sacked' from Radio 1Xtra drivetime show". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  13. ^ "Charlie Sloth gets new late night entertainment show on Radio 1 and 1Xtra". Newsbeat. 5 October 2017. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  14. ^ "Charlie Sloth to leave BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra". BBC News. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Charlie Sloth: Radio 1 and 1Xtra DJ leaving station immediately – BBC News". Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  16. ^ "Charlie Sloth leaves the BBC early after stage rant". 20 October 2018.
  17. ^ "Charlie Sloth on Instagram: "Im soooo GASSED to announce that I'm taking #FireInTheBooth and my Rap show to @beats1official and @applemusic. Listen every week starting…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  18. ^ Lovejoy, Ben (4 October 2018). "BBC's leading hip-hop DJ Charlie Sloth joins Apple Music, following in Zane Lowe's footsteps". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  19. ^ "Charlie Sloth joins Apple's Beats 1 radio station". 14 January 2019. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  20. ^ "Charlie Sloth joins Apple Music's Beats 1 radio station – BBC News". Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  21. ^ Roc Nation signs British hip-hop DJ Charlie Sloth musicbusinessworldwide.com
  22. ^ "Musicians backing Jeremy Corbyn's Labour". The Guardian. 25 November 2019. Archived from the original on 25 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  23. ^ Gayle, Damien (25 November 2019). "Stormzy backs Labour in election with call to end austerity". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  24. ^ "The Plug by Charlie Sloth on Apple Music". iTunes Store (GB). Archived from the original on 25 November 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  25. ^ a b c Powell, Jon (21 August 2017). "Stream Charlie Sloth's Debut Album 'The Plug'". Respect. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
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