Professor Green is on a mission to define masculinity.
The 34-year-old rap star was raised by his grandmother after his mother abandoned him and his father committed suicide, but Pro has admitted that his unusual upbringing left him feeling deprived of a masculine identity.
The London-born musician has recently agreed to write a column for The Book Of Man, which hopes to help men who are stressed and confused about their own identity.
Pro – whose real name is Stephen Manderson – explained: "I’ve decided to write this column to explore all things relative to masculinity – including femininity. What I hope to achieve is what defines, not being a man, but masculinity – to explore just how limiting or expansive it can be.
"My intentions are to be painfully honest, although I do question why honesty has to be painful and the truth has to hurt."
Pro – whose three-year marriage to reality TV star Millie Mackintosh ended in 2016 – grew up amid deprived circumstances and has admitted to lacking a positive male role model in his life.
The ‘Read All About It’ hitmaker described himself as a "fatherless, early school leaving (not one single GCSE), music and more recently documentary making; book writing; ex drug dealing; dog loving; caring; careless; self loathing; cat disliking (hate is too strong a word); drinking and drug taking; self doubting; over thinking; impulsive; impatient; sensitive; emotional; strong (at times); weak (at others); sufferer of depression and above all, my most defining quality, but I had to think about it; I’d probably say, anxious … man?
"The question mark is there because I’m not quite sure what makes you (or me) a man."
In recent years, Pro has explored projects outside of the music industry, including writing his autobiography ‘Lucky’ and presenting a BBC documentary called ‘Suicide and Me’, which focused on his dad’s suicide.
Professor Green’s masculinity mission
