Example

Example, the stage name of Elliot Gleave, is an English singer, songwriter and rapper from London whose initials E.G. gave rise to his moniker. He emerged from the UK underground scene around the mid-2000s, associated with The Streets' independent label The Beats alongside artists like Professor Green and Plan B, and released his sample-heavy, rap-centred debut album What We Made in 2007. That early, scrappy approach gave little hint of the pop-dance crossover to come.

His breakthrough arrived with the Ministry of Sound-released Won't Go Quietly (2010), which blended rapping and singing over big-room electronic production and yielded hit singles including «Kickstarts» and the title track. Example consolidated that success with Playing in the Shadows (2011), a chart-topping album built on collaborations with producers such as Calvin Harris, Nero and Skream, spawning the number-one singles «Changed the Way You Kiss Me» and «Stay Awake». The records placed him at the centre of Britain's early-2010s fusion of urban vocal styles with EDM and dubstep-influenced production.

Later in his career Gleave shifted direction toward guitars and live instrumentation, moving away from the dancefloor sound that made his name. Across his catalogue, Example's work traces a path from underground rap to mainstream pop-dance stardom and back toward a more organic, band-based sound, making him a distinctive figure in the UK's genre-blurring pop landscape of the period.