Professor Green AKA Stephen Manderson is an English rapper from Hackney, Ea… Read Full Bio ↴Professor Green AKA Stephen Manderson is an English rapper from Hackney, East London, currently signed to Virgin Records, after Mike Skinner's The Beats label closed, and ended a run of his own radio shows on BBC Radio 1.

He was signed to The Beats, a record label run by Mike Skinner and Ted Mayhem from 2006 until 12 February 2008, when the label terminated. He rose to success upon winning the inaugural JumpOff MySpace £50,000 battle rap tournament in July 2008. Following this in 2009, Manderson worked with Lily Allen on her 2009 concert tour.

Growing up on the Northwold estate in Upper Clapton, Green's familial situation saw him being raised by his grandmother while he traded up school attendance for just hanging on the estate, like kids do. The Read All About It Songfacts reports that he had a turbulent relationship with his father, who was rarely around during Manderson's childhood and committed suicide in 2008. In his hit single, Read All About It, Green responds to accusations made by his stepmother that his debut album, Alive Till I'm Dead, was "cashing-in" on his death.

While the usual nefarious stories of low budget living played a part in his life, Green's formative years were also characterised by fun: skating was big on the estate, etc. He also had an early inkling that the art of verbal sparring would somehow play a part in his life, confessing how, he always wanted to be a barrister or a lawyer. "I like debates and I've always been argumentative, I think that's helped me in battles a lot."

However, while becoming obsessed with hip-hop at the age of nine "Biggie [[artist]The Notorious B.I.G.] is my greatest hip-hop influence", Green only switched up from passive fan to active participant at a relatively late stage. After turning 18 years old, he coined his first rhyme completely off-the-cuff when put on the spot at an impromptu freestyle jam session round a friends house. Passing the test with aplomb and impressing his music making peers, the underground rap battle scene suddenly opened up before him.

After seeing a poster advertising a rap battle at the Lyric Pad night in London, Green turned up and won. From that he graduated to competing at the prestigious Jump Off events, performing at venues like The Scala and Sound in Leicester Square, and becoming the first ever contestant to win six straight weekly finals in a row. While his seventh showdown ended in defeat, he returned undeterred, put together a second run of consecutive victories and became the first string seven wins together. Throw in a further series of seven straight wins and a dalliance with pay battles, and Green became a man to fear on the battle circuit.

Cue a change of scene and a flight to the exotic climes of the Bahamas to spar for $50,000.

Entering the Power Summit battle against America's finest freestyle icons (think 8 Mile but with no holds barred), the crowd may have first viewed Green as this white English kid who's not going to do anything, but his gift of gab and ability to coin scathing punchlines saw him through to the final where he faced Jin, a member of DMXs much amped Ruff Ryders camp. The judges decided in Jin's favour, although with the Ruff Ryder man having been given a bye to the final and Green having already been through seven prior knockout bouts (including taking out representatives from Eminem's Shady Records camp), by his own admission it was "more a case of me losing it as opposed to Jin winning it."

Still, with a crowd featuring US big rap guns like Busta Rhymes and Saigon, Green made a name for himself and in September went off to Hawaii to compete in the battle again.

A performance at the B-Boy Championships last summer ultimately paid greater dividends and opened him up to a new audience in Mike Skinner of The Streets fame.

"Mike approached me after the B-Boy Championships and wanted to bring me on tour with The Streets" he recalls. I ended up doing an opening battle on the tour and we formed a great relationship from that. At first it wasn't about me looking for a record deal though it was more a case of us deciding to lay down some tracks and seeing where it went.

At the end of April 2006 he signed on the dotted line to release his debut album on Skinner's The Beats label. And while UK hip-hop's profile is certainly in the ascendancy thanks to acts like Skinnyman, Sway and Kano, Green has his eyes on breaking out beyond the usual urban tag affixed to British rappers.

Name-checking Portishead, Radiohead, Tracy Chapman and Suzanne Vega as song-writing influences, Green is well aware of the importance of adapting his lyrics from the immediacy of the live battle circuit to cater to the depth of the album format.

"The thing with hip-hop is if you take a lot of rap songs outside of rap then they aren't great songs, whereas with something like country if you take them outside of the genre then the song-writing skills are still incredible, he rationalises. And I'd like to take those skills into rap."

So while never completely leaving behind the entertaining punchlines that have characterised his battle persona, the album will take in everything from songs about his estranged parents to wish lists of things to do before he passes away and the plight of the average stereotypical man in the eyes of the average stereotypical female (see Stereotypical Man, complete with the catchphrase "'Til my breathings done I'll be reading page three of The Sun").

As Green concludes of his new goals "I wouldn't be happy to sell just 30,000 copies of my album. I don't think that there's anything wrong with aiming above that, giving people an album they can relate to, and wanting to be successful."

Where Do We Go
Professor Green Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Remember when it started I tried to hold back,
Didn't wanna get too into it nor get too intimate,
Tried to back off, but that back-off,
She's gorgeous, 5 ft 4 and 3 quarters,
Half Italian half Japanese, she can make cars crash in them jeans,
But she's so much more than a body, she's perfect,
I knew it would hurt but it was worth it, 'cause when it was working
Weren't nothing like it and to be honest it's as in love that I've been ever!

I never felt a love like this before, so is it I feel so insecure,
Fuck it I'm taking her dive, no more linking I'm making her mine but
Where do we go, where do we go, where do we go from here.
Where do we go, where do we go, where do we go from here.

It's been a couple of months, we've grown so tight so quick,
I just might let you in see, I'm quite closed off,
I got a lot of pain inside, that's why I get high till I dose off but,
I change in time at least I hope to, cause it feels so right when I hold you,
I wanna get inside I wanna know you, there's so much of I, I wanna show you
And though I'm scared to, I'm prepared to, trust you as long as you share too.
Lucked up, both loved up, but little did we know we were both fucked up
The more open we were the more vulnerable, but after a while weren't fun at all
It got deep and proceeded to change, I needed you and you needed the space
What a waste.

Where do we go, where do we go, where do we go from here.
Where do we go, where do we go, where do we go from here.

Overall Meaning

In this song, Professor Green reflects on a romantic relationship that started off casual, but quickly became intense as he fell deeply in love with the person he was seeing. He admits his initial hesitation to get too involved, but ultimately couldn't resist the woman's charm and beauty. As the relationship progresses, he opens up about his struggles with pain and substance abuse, and shares a desire to know his partner more intimately. However, as the relationship becomes more serious, problems arise and the couple begins to struggle with vulnerability and the need for space. The lyrics ultimately pose the question, "Where do we go from here?"

The song explores common themes in romantic relationships, including fear of vulnerability, the excitement and uncertainty of new love, and the challenges of maintaining a long-term commitment. Professor Green contrasts the thrill of falling in love with the eventual reality of the relationship as it deepens and requires more emotional investment. He also touches on themes of personal growth and self-improvement, as he expresses hope for change and a willingness to trust his partner despite past traumas.

Overall, "Where Do We Go" is a poignant reflection on love, vulnerability, and the challenges that come with commitment. It serves as a reminder of the ups and downs of romantic relationships and the importance of honest communication and genuine connection.

Line by Line Meaning

Remember when it started I tried to hold back,
At the beginning of our relationship, I tried to keep my distance and not get too involved.

Didn't wanna get too into it nor get too intimate,
I was afraid of getting too close to you and being vulnerable.

Tried to back off, but that back-off,
I attempted to distance myself emotionally, but it didn't work.

She's gorgeous, 5 ft 4 and 3 quarters,
You are beautiful and petite.

Half Italian half Japanese, she can make cars crash in them jeans,
Your mixed heritage and stunning figure are incredibly attractive.

But she's so much more than a body, she's perfect,
You are much more than just your physical appearance, you are perfect just the way you are.

I knew it would hurt but it was worth it, 'cause when it was working
Even though I knew that getting close to you would be painful if it ended, it was worth it when we were happy together.

Weren't nothing like it and to be honest it's as in love that I've been ever!
Our relationship was unlike anything I've ever experienced, and honestly, I've never been more in love.

I never felt a love like this before, so is it I feel so insecure,
I've never loved someone like this, so my insecurity is overwhelming.

Fuck it I'm taking her dive, no more linking I'm making her mine but
I'm done with casual hookups; I want to commit to you.

It's been a couple of months, we've grown so tight so quick,
Our relationship has become very close in a short amount of time.

I just might let you in see, I'm quite closed off,
I have a hard time being vulnerable and opening up to others.

I got a lot of pain inside, that's why I get high till I dose off but,
I have a lot of emotional pain, which is why I use drugs to numb myself.

I change in time at least I hope to, cause it feels so right when I hold you,
I hope to change and become a better person for you because it feels amazing when we're together.

I wanna get inside I wanna know you, there's so much of I, I wanna show you
I want to get to know you on a deeper level; there is so much of myself that I want to share with you.

And though I'm scared to, I'm prepared to, trust you as long as you share too.
Even though trusting you scares me, I am willing to do it as long as you reciprocate.

Lucked up, both loved up, but little did we know we were both fucked up
We were lucky to have found each other and to be in love, but we didn't realize we both had our own issues to deal with.

The more open we were the more vulnerable, but after a while weren't fun at all
As we became more open with each other, we also became more vulnerable, but over time it stopped being fun and exciting.

It got deep and proceeded to change, I needed you and you needed the space
Our relationship became more intense and evolved, and I needed you more than ever, but you needed space.

What a waste.
It's a shame that our relationship had to end this way.

Where do we go, where do we go, where do we go from here.
Now that our relationship has ended, where do we go from here?

Where do we go, where do we go, where do we go from here.
We need to figure out what comes next for us after our breakup.

Lyrics © Bucks Music Group
Written by: Ben Hughes, Hayes Alexander, Stephen Manderson

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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