Kareem Dennis. better known by his stage name Lowkey, is a British rapper and activist from London. Lowkey was born to an Iraqi mother and an English father. From the age of twelve he began to rap, initially imitating American rappers but soon began using his own accent. He began attending open mic sessions which at the Deal Real record shop on Carnaby Street, Central London. The first time he went he introduced himself as Lowkey and was told there was already a regular there by that name; the two had a rap battle to decide who would continue to use the alias, Kareem emerged victorious and continued to use the name thereafter.
He first became known through a series of mixtapes he released before he was 18, before taking a hiatus from the music business. He would return in 2008, with appearances on BBC Radio and at various festivals and concerts including the Glastonbury and T in the Park in the buildup to his first solo album Dear Listener, as well as collaborating with other British musicians to form the supergroup Mongrel. He released his second solo album, Soundtrack to the Struggle, independently in 2011. After a five-year hiatus, Lowkey released a string of singles between 2016 and 2018 to precede the release of his third album, Soundtrack to the Struggle 2, released in 2019.
Lowkey has been a prominent member of the Stop the War and has spoken against the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Furthermore, he has been a sharp critic of American and British foreign policy, claiming that the two countries are only interested in supporting leaders who are under their influence or are willing to assist them. He also claimed American media overlooks those within the country who do not believe in American military supremacy. In 2012, Lowkey turned down an opportunity to appear on Tim Westwood TV in protest, explaining in an article written for Ceasefire Magazine that he did so because of Westwood’s decision to broadcast a segment of his show from Camp Bastion in Afghanistan; Lowkey argued that Westwood’s decision amounted to an endorsement of the war in Afghanistan.
In May 2017, Lowkey endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 General Election. He said: “We have a choice between policies which foster empathy and policies which foster greed, resentment, estrangement and alienation.” In November 2019, along with other public figures, Lowkey signed a letter supporting Corbyn describing him as “a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world” and endorsed him in the 2019 General Election. In the same month, along with 34 other musicians, he signed a letter endorsing Corbyn in the 2019 UK general election with a call to end austerity. In December 2019, along with 42 other cultural figures, he signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Corbyn’s leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that “Labour’s election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few.”
