Craig David was born 5th May 1981 in Southampton Hampshire the son of Tina (neé. Loftus), a retail assistant, and George David, a carpenter, and grew up in the Hollywood Estate Southampton. Craig's father has a Grenadian heritage and Craig's mother is Anglo-jewish and related to the founders of the Accurist watch-making company. 

Craig loves his hometown and is a huge fan of Southampton Football Club. He atteneded Bellemoor School and Southampton City College and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Solent University. Craig was also awarded a Black Plaque which can be found in the cultural quarter Guildhall Square. 

David's father played in a band called the Ebony Rockers and as a teen David began accompanying his father to local dance clubs, where DJs let him take the microphone. He spent some time as a DJ at the local Southampton West Indian Club.

David's earliest exposure came when he worked on a B-side to British group Damage's cover 'Wonderful Tonight', on the track 'I'm Ready'. He then started doing vocals for the English garage duo The Artful Dodger. 

Colin Lester, of Wildstar record, then became aware of Craig's talent. At that point Lester offered him a devolpment deal with his label. When Lester later heard the song '7 Days', he said he immediately heard a number-one record and promoted the contract to an album deal the same day. The album 'Born To Do It' was released in the United States on 17th July 2001, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard chart and has now sold over 7.5 million copies worldwide, making it one of the biggest albums by a UK R&B artist. The album debuted at number one on the UK album charts becoming the fastest-selling debut album by a British male solo act. The single '7 Days' hit the top 10 in the U.S and MTV voted Born To Do It as number 2 on their Greatest Albums of All-Time poll, behind Michael Jackson's Thriller. The rest is history.  

Excerpt from Black Stories Southampton, Extraordinary Accounts by Don John