Music
Top Boy is a who's who of the UK music scene's acting talent
One of the best British TV shows of recent years is also home to some of the best music talent the UK has produced.
With a new season of Top Boy pegged for later in the year, we’re recapping the dramatic turns of some of UK music’s most versatile stars -- and wondering which other artists we might see turning their hand to spot of acting in the next instalment too.
Note: if you’ve not gorged on seasons one to three yet, first of all: why not? And secondly, there might be a few spoilers ahead. Consider yourself warned.
SEASON 1
Ashley Walters aka Asher D, as Dushane
So Solid Crew
© Naki/Redferns
Best known as Asher D, a core member of the nebulous So Solid Crew, Ashley Walters plays the ambitious Dushane – who has his sights set on dominating the drugs market on the fictional east London Summerhouse estate. The show revolves around his sometimes chaotic string of wins and losses, as well as a fraught but ultimately co-dependent relationship with his right-hand man. Speaking of whom...
Kane Robinson aka Kano, as Sully
Kano
© Strawberries & Creem
Aside from the odd Mercedes Benz advert, Top Boy was Kano’s first real taste of life on screen. Taking a leading role in the series as Sully, the grime poster boy and former NASTY Crew member navigates a challenging relationship with Dushane as the pair attempt to take control of Summerhouse.
Tayo Jarrett aka Scorcher, as Kamale
MC, producer, and Movement crew member Scorcher plays Kamale: the hot-headed antagonist standing in the way of Dushane and Sully’s expanding empire. But after crossing the Summerhouse top boys one too many times, he meets a grisly end: buried alive, dug up, then shot and buried for good. Or is he...?
Derek Safo aka Sway, as Ross Rosten
An honourable mention goes to Derek Safo aka noughties UK hip hop pioneer Sway, who crops up for a cameo, gets a couple of his digits cut off, and then is seen no longer. Little Derek’s doing OK? Not in Top Boy he’s not.
SEASON 2
Ashley Thomas aka Bashy, as Jermaine
The main musical addition to the cast in season two, Bashy’s arrival is an ill-fated one. He gets embroiled in the story as the subject of a hit job that Sully (and his new partner Mike) take on. Things go slightly pear-shaped when Sully realises the man he’s been paid to kill is his cousin.
Cashief Wayne Nichols aka Cashtastic/Cashh, as himself
The only musician to appear as himself, Cashtastic was signed to Universal Records when the show first aired. He crops up as a budding young rapper laying down tracks in a home studio. However a controversial move to deport him by the UK Border Agency put a pause on his blossoming rapping (and acting) career, until he was cleared to return to the UK at the end of 2019.
Natalie Athanasiou aka Nolay, as Mandy
South London MC Nolay crops up for a cameo as the incarcerated girlfriend of dealer Dris. Her brief turn sees her stressing the importance of Dris staying out of prison, for the sake of their daughter.
Roxanne Conway aka Roxxxan, as Tina
Briefer still is Birmingham rapper RoxXxan's appearance during a kidnapping that Dushane orchestrates to pressure a potential witness.
SEASON 3
After the original show was cancelled by Channel 4 in 2013, fans were left hanging for more than half a decade. Rumours swirled about the future of the show, until Canada’s favourite anglophile rapper Drake confirmed that he’d partnered with Netflix to bring the show back to screens.
He used an appearance at London’s O2 arena to trail the new season, and keen-eyed music followers were quick to spot some more familiar faces…
Simbi Ajikawo aka Little Simz, as Shelley
Little Simz
© Steve Stills / Red Bull Content Pool
Mercury-nominated rapper Little Simz plays Shelley, who cares for Dushane’s ageing mother and serves as the show’s moral voice as she straddles the realities of life in Summerhouse and wanting a brighter future for her young daughter.
David Omoregie aka Dave, as Modie
Dave
© Steve Stills/Red Bull Content Pool
Dave's usually calm demeanour is flipped on its head as he steps onscreen as Modie: a brutal, nihilistic young gun with his eyes set on the power and influence of the vicious drug barons he seeks to emulate.
Alexander Blake aka Blakie, as Cam
Eyez, Blakie and PK
© Steve Stills
Lewisham grime MC Blakie -- appearing here as a slightly unhinged low-level dealer called Cam -- finds himself on the wrong side of new contender Jamie's aggressive expansion. And ends up, as is the way, being bundled into the back of a car he's got no interest in being in.
Bonus: Momodou Jallow aka J Hus
J Hus
© Olivia Rose
OK, he’s not technically in the show – but he did make it in via a lyric that Dave's character adlibs during a climactic scene in which he gets bust out of prison by his loyal lackeys. He would later admit that the line – “daily offender, crazy eastender” – belonged to Hus. A fact that would be confirmed with the arrival of Reckless, on J Hus’ second album Big Conspiracy in January 2020.
SEASON 4?
There’s been no clear word on when the next season will land, though it has been confirmed as coming back at some point in 2020.
Expectations point towards an autumn release, and the show’s creators have suggested the new season will pick up where it left off.
They’ve also hinted that new episodes will feature the same raft of characters that the show’s fans have grown so fond of – as well as a few new additions.
Whether the likes of Kano and Little Simz will be joined by more musical colleagues is yet to be seen, though there has been some speculation that Drake might take a cameo -- seeing as he's helped fund the production. It seems unlikely, given the efforts the show's creators have gone to to develop such a true-to-life world for the programme's characters.
But are there other musical stars who might make an appearance in the new season?
Stormzy showed his acting chops with a part in 2016's Brotherhood, and could be up for extending his household name status with a turn in Top Boy? Season three saw the action head up-country to Manchester. Could Bugzy Malone or Aitch make a cameo in season four?
It's almost impossible to say at this stage, but a bit of healthy speculation should at least kill the time spent waiting to see what's in store for the residents of Summerhouse and the Fields.
Now listen to a Fireside Chat with Little Simz aka Shelley:
