The linguist who rapped, then sang a hook heard in 22 countries

Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III was born in Orange County, California, to Panamanian parents and grew up in Laguna Hills. In third grade he rented a trumpet, and when buying it made more sense, he felt it forced him to take music seriously. Fourth grade brought another turning point, his first exposure to LL Cool J, which he later described as a hip hop moment sitting right beside the musician moment. He went on to study linguistics and psychology at the University of Southern California and briefly worked at Ernst & Young.

Music won out anyway. In 1995 he teamed up with the producer Exile to form Emanon, a name that is simply “no name” spelled backwards, borrowed from a Dizzy Gillespie title. With breakbeat loops and jazz samples, the duo became a mainstay of the indie rap underground, releasing a first mixtape in 1996 and several more projects over the years. Alongside that he toured and recorded with the Lootpack collective and worked with the French jazz group Jazz Liberatorz.

As a solo artist from 2003, he grew more interested in songwriting. He has said he was uncomfortable with hip hop being so much about ego and wanted to write songs, in the form of a rap, that expressed something more. In 2006 Chris Manak of Stones Throw Records heard him sing and offered him a contract on the spot, leading to the full-length Shine Through, a blend of old-school funk and soul with a modern edge.

The wider public met him through “Wake Me Up”, Avicii's 2013 single on which he was the guest voice, a record that topped the charts in 22 countries. As lead artist he is known for “I Need a Dollar” and “The Man”, the latter reaching number one in the UK. Through all of it, Emanon remained his base: the rapper, the singer and the songwriter turn out to be one person, who kept his focus on what a song actually says.