Hardy Tayyib-Bah (born 23 May 1996), known professionally as Hardy Caprio,[1][2] is a Sierra Leonean-born British rapper and singer.[3]
By 2020, Hardy has released a string of successful releases, broken into The Official UK Top 20, and amassed over 270 million streams online.[4]
Career
2010–2016: Early career
Hardy began his music career in 2010, debuting his career under the rap name Profitz.[1] At the age of 14, Profitz introduced himself to the music scene with his '#KNWME freestyle'.[5] Hardy also featured on a few freestyles alongside South London rapper Novelist (MC).[6] In 2010 Profitz went on to release his first project titled 'A New Page'. He later went on to release his first mixtape 'Indecisive' in 2013 under a new rap name, Hardy.[1]
2017–2018: Rise to popularity, Hardy Season and The Hollywood EP
Under the new name Hardy Caprio, he was inspired by Croydon artists such as Krept and Konan and Stormzy receiving a widespread success across the UK, which motivated him to pursue music more seriously.[4][7] Hardy went on to release over 20 videos in 2017, going from 10,000 views to 100,000 in a year.[4] One notable freestyle he dropped was on the SB.TV platform, which helped raise his profile. Hardy rapped over Flukes instrumental "Wifey", a Rhythm & Grime song originally released and made famous by Tinie Tempah in 2006.[8][9][4] In 2017, Hardy released "Unsigned" and "Super Soaker" alongside One Acen. "Unsigned" became a platinum single, garnered over 14 million views on YouTube, over 30 million streams, and reached number 2 on the UK Independent Chart.[10][11][4]