Zeph Ellis

Joseph Ellis-Stephenson (born 19 October 1988), better known by his stage name Dot Rotten, Zeph Ellis or Who's British is a British grime MC, rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer from Lambeth, South London.^[1]

Dot Rotten
Dot Rotten performing at Bingley Music Live, September 2011
Background information
Birth name	Joseph Ellis-Stephenson
Also known as	Dot Rotten Young Dot Mr. Three-Six Big Dotti Biological Father of Grime Terror Child Who's British
Born	(1988-10-19) 19 October 1988 (age 36) London, England[1]
Genres	British hip-hop grime
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter record producer
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Rotten Riddims Minarmy Mercury (former)
Website	producerzeph.store

Having released a series of mixtapes independently in the grime scene under the names Young Dot and later Dot Rotten, Ellis signed to Mercury Records, releasing his debut studio album Voices in My Head in 2013.^[2][3] After leaving the major label, he has since released several independent EP's and projects, as well as later changing his name to Zeph Ellis and focusing on producing.

He is known for introducing various sampling techniques to grime production, and creating the style of singing hooks on grime tracks. These styles can be heard throughout his discography from the early Young Dot era to his present projects under the Zeph Ellis moniker.

Biography

2004–2008: Early career and first name change

Ellis began rapping at the age of seven, using an Atari model as a basis for music production.^[1] Under the name Young Dot, he released his first self-produced mixtape in 2007, entitled This Is The Beginning.

The following year saw Ellis abandon the moniker and adopt a new guise, Dot Rotten. The name change was followed by a second self-produced mixtape entitled R.I.P. Young Dot, released in July 2008. This year also saw the release of Rotten Riddims, an instrumental series spanning six volumes. These featured a host of new material, as well as instrumentals that Ellis had previously made and used in his Young Dot era. Volume 7 was eventually released in 2014 as a free download.

2008–2011: Mixtapes and collaborations

The following year, Ellis released two mixtapes within two months, entitled S.O.O.N (Something Out of Nothing) and Extra Attention. Production was primarily handled by Dot himself, but also featured instrumentals by Rude Kid, Faith SFX and Dizzee Rascal. Guest vocalists included Ice Kid, MEGA12, Voltage, Brutal and Shimmer.

2011–2013: Breakthrough and Voices in My Head

2011 saw Dot Rotten sign his first major label deal with Mercury Records. During this year he made several guest appearances, including on Ed Sheeran's No. 5 Collaborations Project ("Goodbye to You"),^[4] Mz. Bratt's Elements mixtape ("Speeding By")^[5] and Cher Lloyd's Sticks + Stones ("Dub on the Track"). He also appeared on the Children in Need 2011 charity single, "Teardrop".^[6][7] Under the name 'The Collective', Rotten appeared as one of many artists assembled by Take That member Gary Barlow, which included Chipmunk, Wretch 32, Mz. Bratt, Labrinth, Rizzle Kicks, Ed Sheeran, Ms. Dynamite and Tulisa Contostavlos. The single, which was performed both at Children in Need 2011 and Children in Need Rocks Manchester in November 2011 debuted at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart;^[8] marking Dot Rotten's first chart appearance. An EP entitled Above The Waves was self-released in June 2014 featuring the lead track, "Normal Human Being".

The rapper proceeded to release his debut single on 4 November 2011, entitled "Keep It on a Low". It was announced on 5 December that Dot Rotten had been nominated for the BBC's poll Sound of 2012.^[1] The rapper's second single, "Are You Not Entertained?" was released on 4 March 2012, following a premiere from BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe on 4 January. "Are You Not Entertained?" debuted at number fifty-three on the UK Singles Chart and number twenty-one on the UK R&B Chart – marking Rotten's first chart appearance as a solo artist.^[8][9] The rapper's third single, "Overload", was released in the United Kingdom on 28 May 2012. Sampling the 1996 number-two hit "Children", by Robert Miles, the track was selected as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record in the World.^[10] "Overload" debuted at number fifteen on the UK chart,^[8][11] also debuting at number three on the R&B chart.^[9] In march 2013 Dot Rotten featured on Kid Bookie's "Evolution" produced by Flava D alongside Griminal, Brotherhood, Pawz and Maxsta.^{[Video Reference 1][12]} His debut studio album, Voices in My Head, was released in the United Kingdom on 6 May 2013. Despite the successful singles, due to issues with the label, the album was neglected by Dot himself and it only managed to chart at number 146 on the UK Albums Chart. A free mixtape entitled Throwback Music was released soon after, consisting of songs that didn't make the final cut of the album.

2013: Interview and name change

After leaving his label deal, Minfection EP was released in January 2014.^[13] Ellis then proceeded to put out his self-released album Interview featuring artists including Sickman, Stylo G, Lady Leshurr and Abel Miller.

Taking a break from rapping, Ellis changed his stage name to Zeph Ellis and focused on production, releasing various instrumental projects including the This Side of Grime series. He produced an instrumental titled "XCXD BXMB" which featured on the fabriclive.83 mix CD. It was used as the basis for Kano's "Garage Skank" from Made in the Manor, and AJ Tracey's "Naila" from the Alex Moran EP. Ellis also produced Jammer's 2016 single "Dagenham Dave."

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details
Voices in My Head	Released: 6 May 2013 Label: Mercury/Universal Records Ltd.
Interview	Released: 13 July 2014 Label: Minarmy Free download

Mixtapes

Title Mixtape details This Is the Beginning (as Young Dot) Released: 2007 Label: Self-released Rotten Riddims, Volume 1 (as Young Dot) Released: 1 June 2008 Label: GPP Records Rotten Riddims, Volume 2 (as Young Dot) Released: 9 June 2008 Label: GPP Records Rotten Riddims, Volume 3 (as Young Dot) Released: 16 June 2008 Label: GPP Records Rotten Riddims, Volume 4 (as Young Dot) Released: 23 June 2008 Label: GPP Records

Title Mixtape details Rotten Riddims, Volume 5 (as Young Dot) Released: 30 June 2008 Label: GPP Records Rotten Riddims, Volume 6 (as Young Dot) Released: 7 July 2008 Label: GPP Records R.I.P. Young Dot (as Dot Rotten) Released: 14 July 2008 Label: GPP Records Something Out of Nothing (S.O.O.N) (as Dot Rotten) Released: 2 November 2009 Label: Self Released Extra Attention (as Dot Rotten) Released: 21 December 2009 Label: Self Released Throwback Music (as Dot Rotten) Released: 11 March 2013 Label: Self Released Rotten Riddims, Volume 7 (as Dot Rotten) Released: 20 May 2014 Label: Self Released 808s and Gunshots (as Dot Rotten) Released: 6 January 2020 Label: Self Released

Extended plays

Title	EP details
Above the Waves	Released: 14 June 2011 Self-released
Minfection	Released: 7 January 2014 Self-released
Remember Me	Released: 5 December 2014 Self-released
Spotified Mine	Released: 21 July 2017 Self-released
No L's	Released: 22 September 2017 Self-released

Singles

Single	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		UK [8]	UK R&B [9]	SCO [14]
"Keep It on a Low"	2011	70	32	—	Voices in My Head
"Are You Not Entertained?"	2012	53	21	76
"Overload" (featuring TMS)		15	3	20
"Karmageddon"[15]		67	—	—
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist

Single	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		UK [8]	UK R&B [9]	SCO [16]
"A Star"[17] (Early B featuring Dot Rotten)	2008	—	—	—	Non-album single
"Teardrop" (as part of The Collective)	2011	24	7	30	Non-album single
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances

Song	Year	Album
"Sounds & Gimmicks" (P Money featuring Dot Rotten)	2008	P Money Is Power
"Seven Figure Swagger" (Plastician Remix) (Foreign Beggars featuring Wretch 32 & Dot Rotten)	2010	Beggattron Remixed EP 1
"Goodbye to You"[4] (Ed Sheeran featuring Dot Rotten)	2011	No. 5 Collaborations Project
"Speeding By"[5] (Mz. Bratt featuring Dot Rotten)		Elements
"Dub on the Track" (Cher Lloyd featuring Mic Righteous, Dot Rotten + Ghetts)		Sticks + Stones
"You Need Me, I Don't Need You" (True Tiger Remix)[18] (Ed Sheeran featuring Dot Rotten & Scrufizzer)		The Thank You EP
"Single Tear" (S-X Remix) (Tyler James featuring Dot Rotten)	2012	Single Tear — (Remixes)
"Evolution" (Kid Bookie featuring Griminal, Brotherhood, Dot Rotten, Pawz and Maxsta)	2013	N/A
"Evolution 2" (Kid Bookie featuring Samantha Mumba, Crooked I, Kuniva D12, Lady Leshurr, Scrufizzer and Dot Rotten)[19]	2014	That SP Compilation, Vol.1

Music videos

This list is incomplete

Song	Year	Director	References
"Normal Human Being"	2011	Luke Monaghan + James Barber	[20]
"I Want To Annoy"		Quason Matthews + Joseph Ellis	[21]
"Speeding By" (with Mz. Bratt)			[5]
"Teardrop" (as part of The Collective)		Ben Vertex + Ben Leinster	[22]
"Keep It on a Low"		Luke Monagan + James Barber	[23]
"Dub on the Track" (with Cher Lloyd, Mic Righteous + Ghetts)		Paris Zarcilla	[24]
"Are You Not Entertained"	2012	Adam Powell	[25]
"Understimated"		Jamal Woon + Joseph Ellis	[26]
"Overload"		Quason Matthews	[27]
"Overload" (Remix)		Saoud Khalaf + Charlotte Regan	[28]

Awards and nominations

Year	Organisation	Award	Result	Ref.
2011	BBC Sound of 2012	Sound of 2012	Nominated	[1]

Tours

• No More Idols Tour (2011) (as supporting act)
• Cole World... World Tour (2011) (as supporting act)
• Dappy Tour (2011) (as supporting act)

Notes

1. "Kid Bookie ft. Griminal, Brotherhood, Pawz, Dot Rotten & Maxsta | Evolution [Music Video]: SBTV". SBTV: Music. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2021.