Pa Salieu is a British rapper who kickstarted his career with "Frontline," the most-played single of 2020 on the BBC Radio hip-hop station 1Xtra. He was born under the name Pa Salieu Gaye to Gambian parents on 1 June 1997, in Slough, Berkshire. Before his first birthday, he returned to his family's native Gambia and lived there until he was eight years old, at which point his family returned to England. Settling in Coventry, he began making music as a teenager and released his debut song, "Never Had," in September 2018. Highlighting his talents as both a rapper and singer, "Never Had" was followed by a bigger hit, "Frontline," which chronicled his upbringing in the West Midlands. The song became a viral hit on video sharing websites, accumulating more than two million views and earning Pa Salieu a string of featured appearances on songs like SL's "Hit the Block." Signed to Warner Music UK, he released the debut album Send Them to Coventry in November 2020, with "Frontline" doubling as the album's lead single. Send Them to Coventry became a hit on the UK R&B Albums chart, where it peaked at Number 14, and spawned a handful of follow-up singles, including "Betty," "My Family," and "Block Boy." By 2021, Pa Salieu had already begun creating new material, starting with the Slowthai collaboration "Glidin'." In 2022, he was forced to put the brakes on his career when he was sentenced to 33 months in prison after being charged with violent disorder. After serving 21 months of his sentence, he was released in September 2024 and dropped his second album, Afrikan Alien. Also in 2024, he teamed up with Disclosure on the single "King Steps."
