Five months after Adele’s split from estranged husband Simon Konecki, the singer is now reportedly dating someone from her hometown — Skepta! Here’s what you should know about the award-winning grime rapper.
UPDATE (10/1/19, 12:03 a.m. ET): Skepta, 37, is reportedly dating singer Adele, 31, according to a report from The Sun that surfaced on Sept. 30, 2019! They both hail from the same hometown — Tottenham in North London — and started as friends, which has supposedly blossomed into something more in the wake of Adele’s split from her estranged husband Simon Konecki, 45. “Adele and Skepta have been there for each other a lot after both their relationships split up. They have a close bond and there’s definitely a special connection,” a source told The Sun. Adele’s split was announced in April 2019, and Skepta was once rumored to be dating Naomi Campbell (this was never confirmed, and the grime rapper went on to reveal that he welcomed a baby girl in Jan. 2019 — the mother remains a mystery).
Here’s what else you should know about the acclaimed artist, who once stirred rumors after posting a photo of an ultrasound in July of 2018!
ORIGINAL (7/31/18, 7:01 p.m. ET): Skepta, you’ve got some ‘splaining to do. The 35-year-old rapper posted an image of a 4D ultrasound to his Instagram on July 30, with just a flower emoji as a caption. This lack of an explanation left fans scrambling for some kind of reason, with many wondering if this means he and his girlfriend, Naomi Campbell, 48, are expecting. Neither has responded to the rumors of the pregnancy, but fans are still speculating that these two are about to have the most gorgeous baby ever. So, who is Skepta?
1. He’s a U.K. grime rapper… Born in North London to two immigrant parents from Nigeria, Joseph Junior Adenuga grew up in Tottenham. After honing his rap chops in groups like Meridian Crew and Roll Deep, Skepta dropped his first solo mixtape, Joseph Junior Adenuga, in 2006. He dropped his debut album, Greatest Hits, in 2007. Since then, he’s put out a handful of mixtapes as well as studio albums. His most recent is 2016’s Konnichiwa, but he has released a handful of singles since then.
2. …who happens to be an award winning-musician. That Konnichiwa album? That record – which included the top 40 singles “That’s Not Me,” “Shutdown,” and “Man” – was critically acclaimed. Apple Music named it the Best Album of 2016, while NME, The Independent, The Guardian, Mojo and Pitchfork all gave it high praise. The record reportedly helped give grime music a much-needed boost, and it ultimately won the 2016 Mercury Music Prize, beating out David Bowie, Radiohead and Kano.
3. His siblings have gone on to work in the music industry Music is the new family business for Skepta and his kin. His sister, Julie Adenuga, is a radio host on Apple’s Beats 1. His brother, Jason, is a fledgling producer, according to The Sun, and his older brother, Jamie, is better known as JME, a fellow grime rapper (and fellow Roll Deep member.)
4. He and Naomi have been romantically linked since 2016. Romance rumors between these two started at the British Fashion Awards in Nov. 2016. “She was like a bullet,” he said to GQ. “She was just going and going and going, and everyone has to, like, catch up.” The two were spotted together at the V05 NME Awards in Feb. 2017, per Bustle. He spoke publicly about Naomi during a June 2017 Vogue interview about his debut clothing line, saying she was his “favourite cover girl.” The two appeared on the cover of GQ’s March 2018 issue, and practically confirmed they were dating (without explicitly confirming it.)
5. He’s a Nigerian chief. In April 2018, Skepta was awarded an honorary Chieftaincy Title in his family’s hometown of Ijebu Ode, Ogun state. Skepta, who is of both Yoruba and Igbo ethnicity, was proud to represent his heritage. Naomi, who was in that part of the world with him, tweeted a picture along with her congratulations to her boo.