Rizzle Kicks

Signs that Jordan Stephens and Harley Alexander-Sule were destined to come together as a duo first started over two decades ago. At around 10 years old they both moved from London to Brighton where they attended different secondary schools but mixed with the same circles, playing on rival football teams.
Fate brought both of them from Brighton to the world-famous BRIT school, which nurtured creative talents such as Adele, Amy Winehouse and Tom Holland. Jordan studied Media, wanting to be a writer/director and Harley focussed on Theatre, with visions of becoming an actor. They could have easily ended up working on opposite sides of the camera to one another, but music would be where they would find huge success together. Inspired by the sound of Mike Skinner and The Streets, Jordan invited Harley into the studio to record some lyrics one day. Their first efforts received a positive reaction and in August 2011, aged 19 years old, Jordan and Harley had become Rizzle Kicks, and found themselves with the world at their feet.

But the pressures of the relentless pop cycle took their toll on the pair as they came of age in an environment full of challenging toxic influences.
They mutually decided to bow out of the music scene in 2016 for mental health reasons which they have both been open about: Harley citing struggles with anxiety and depression, and Jordan speaking frankly about dealing with an unhealthy relationship with drugs.
Jordan has remained in the public eye, engaging in conversations around masculinity and mental health on podcasts and making a number of television appearances including hosting ITV2’s successful show Don’t Hate The Playaz with the likes of Maya Jama. He pivoted to acting, appearing in British TV shows Catastrophe, Feel Good and The Ex-Wife and has written a memoir that was published this year.

Meanwhile Harley took time to focus on being a father of two and has been less visible with no Instagram presence but kept his hand in music, songwriting behind the scenes with the likes of Tom Grennan, Celeste and Rachel Chinouriri. He also released some work under the alias Jimi Charles Moody.
Jordan and Harley remained friends after they quit music and the idea of reuniting as Rizzle Kicks came up several times over the years. Neither of them wanted to force things, so the return was taken slowly, but when they found themselves back in the studio together the chemistry was still there, along with a newfound maturity.