Adrian Thaws (born January 27, 1968), better known as Tricky, is an English rapper and musician important in the trip hop and British music scene (despite loathing the "trip hop" tag). He is noted for a whispering lyrical style that is half-rapped, half-sung. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound. Culturally, Tricky bridges white and black Britain, particularly in his fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop culture.

Biography
Eventually he met DJ Milo and hung out with a sound system called The Wild Bunch, which by 1987 evolved into Massive Attack. He received the nickname 'Tricky Kid' and at 18 he became a member of the Fresh 4, a rap group built from The Wild Bunch. He also rapped on Massive Attack's acclaimed debut album Blue Lines (1991). But as soon as making music turned into a business he didn't like it anymore. Though Tricky also appeared on Massive Attack's next album, Protection, he never had the feeling of being a part of the band and never really enjoyed it.
In 1991, before the release of Massive Attack's album Blue Lines, he met Martina Topley-Bird. Some time later she came to his house, and mentioned to Tricky and Mark Stewart that she could sing. Martina was only fifteen years old, but her 'honey-coated vox' impressed them and they recorded a song called "Aftermath" (though The Face '95 mentions that the first song they recorded together was called "Shoebox"). Tricky showed "Aftermath" to Massive Attack, but they weren't interested. So in 1993 he decided to press a few hundreds vinyls of the song. He cut it directly off of the tape, so that the song is basically "just bassline and hiss". (NME '94). Finally, this white label got him a contract with Island Records and he started to record his first solo album.

Early career
He left Massive Attack to release his debut album, Maxinquaye (named after his late mother "Maxine Quaye"). The album was a massive success and Tricky was catapulted to international fame, something he was notably uncomfortable with.
Tricky failed to complete a number of lyrics for the Massive Attack album Protection and gave the band some of the lyrics he had written for Maxinquaye instead. When Massive Attack was asked about why the lyrics were the same in a Radio interview on CFNY (Toronto) they jokingly said that it was because he was lazy. Different versions of the same songs appear on both albums - called "Overcome" and "Hell is 'Round the Corner" on Maxinquaye and "Karmacoma" and "Eurochild" on Protection.
Tricky found it difficult to cope with the huge success of Maxinquaye and he subsequently eschewed the laidback soul sound of the first album to create an increasingly edgy and aggressive punk tinged music.
In 1996, the opening track of his second album Nearly god is a cover of a Siouxsie & the Banshees number called 'Tattoo'..

Breakthrough
By the time Pre-Millennium Tension was released Tricky was increasingly irritated with the press, particularly articles written in The Face magazine. The Face had been an early champion of Maxinquaye, but saw Tricky as more a duo than a solo project. The Face published an article claiming that vocalist Martina Topley-Bird had to single-handedly bring up the child that Tricky had fathered, Mina Topley-Bird.
He has also been concerned with racial stereotyping of the media. In the documentary Naked & Famous he explains how photographers want him to frown angrily in photos, because that's how black artists are marketed. He points to a recent cover of The Big Issue, where he has a more ambiguous, confused look on his face, as being more how he feels. In the song "Tricky Kid" from Pre-Millennium Tension, he writes "As long as you're humble/Let you be the king of jungle", indicating that all black music is still judged as music from "the African jungle" and that its black fans are "savages". That same lyric was also said to be a subtle dig at rival jungle king Goldie.
In 1995 during the making of Icelandic singer Björk's album Post, the two were romantically involved. The two kept this a secret from the press, feeling the tabloids would never leave them in peace. After their relationship ended, Björk began a short lived relationship with drum and bass artist Goldie with whom Tricky famously had a fist fight at a Florida night club. He contributed writing on the Post tracks "Enjoy" and "Headphones".

Idiosyncrasies and media controversies
Tricky has guest starred on a number of albums, including a notable appearance on Live's fifth studio album, V. This appearance came as Tricky and Live's lead singer Ed Kowalczyk had developed a close friendship, with Kowalczyk contributing vocals to 'Evolution Revolution Love', a track on Tricky's album Blowback.
Tricky has also acted in various films. He appeared in a significant supporting role in the 1997 Luc Besson film The Fifth Element, playing the right-hand man Michael to evil businessman Mr. Zorg. He reportedly put off actor Gary Oldman (who played Zorg) because, while he had his back to the camera, he was eating a Twix bar, to Oldman's anger ("He's facking eatin' a Twix!") [1]. He also appears briefly in the 2004 Olivier Assayas film Clean, playing himself, and had a large role in the music video for "Parabol/Parabola" by Tool.
In 2001 Tricky appeared in online advertising for the webisodal show We Deliver, [2] about a marijuana delivery service in NYC. Though he didin't actually appear in any episodes, in the advertising it appears as if he's a customer of the service.
After the release of Blowback, Tricky opened for Tool with the full support of his band during Tool's Lateralus Tour in 2001 and 2002. He and Hawkman, a rapper on Blowback, joined Tool on stage to perform "Opiate" and "Reflection", respectively.

Currently

Discography

Maxinquaye (1995) #3 UK
Nearly God (1996) #10 UK
Pre-Millennium Tension (1996) #30 UK, #140 US
Angels with Dirty Faces (1998) #23 UK, #84 US
Juxtapose (1999) (with DJ Muggs and Grease) #22 UK, #182 US
Blowback (2001) #34 UK, #138 US
Vulnerable (2003) Albums

A Ruff Guide (2002) Singles and EPs

Afrika Islam (Here Come The Aliens)
Damon Albarn (unreleased song intended for Nearly God)
Ambersunshower
Björk
Pete Briquette
Rob Cavallo
Greg Cohen
Cath Coffey
Lisa Coleman
Elvis Costello
Neneh Cherry
Carmen Ejogo
Flo
Nelly Furtado
Garbage
Alison Goldfrapp
Gravediggaz
Terry Hall
PJ Harvey
Chesney Hawkes
Scott Ian
Inner Circle
Grace Jones
Josh Klinghoffer
Ed Kowalczyk of Live
Cyndi Lauper
Mad Dog
Massive Attack
Wendy Melvoin
Alanis Morissette
Mos Def
Alison Moyet
DJ Muggs
Paul Oakenfold
Tim Pierce
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Marc Ribot
Mark Saunders
Jane Scarpantoni
Terranova
Mark Thwaite
Martina Topley-Bird
Tool
Zeb