Music
8 times UK MCs hit the top of the single charts
Following Dave and Fredo's surprise entry at no.1 on the UK singles chart, we look at the history of UK rappers topping the charts – from So Solid Crew, to Dizzee and Wiley.
Last week, Dave and Fredo joined a short but growing list of UK rappers who’ve scored a number one in the UK singles chart.
What’s most striking about the track – Funky Friday – is that it barely strays from the sound that Dave and Fredo’s existing fans are familiar with. As will become clear from the list below, historically UK MCs have often been pressed to alter their image and adopt more commercially-friendly styles in order to top the charts. Much has been made, for instance, of the fact that Funky Friday doesn’t include a traditional chorus.
A combination of social media and new chart rules (downloads have been included since 2004 but it took until 2014 to incorporate streams, and video views have been counted since the beginning of 2018) have enabled Dave and Fredo to secure the top spot without compromising.
As the pair aim to hold on to pole position for a second week running, we take a look back at some of the other occasions when UK MCs have a clinched a number one.
1. So Solid Crew – 21 Seconds (2001)
Arguably the most influential track on this list, for a certain generation 21 Seconds will conjure sharp memories: whether from its iconic dystopian video set, the hook-laden chorus, or simply the words “Romeo done.”
The track featured appearances from 10 members of the sprawling crew, with each being given 12 bars of four beats to spit their lyrics. At 137 bpm, 12 bars amounts to approximately – yep – 21 seconds.
A posse cut for the ages, it went straight in at number one and remained there for just one week. But its influence would live on much longer: the tune still stands out as a statement piece in the process that saw the glitzy world of garage morph the darker, more abrasive form that would later become known as grime.
2. Dizzee Rascal – Dance Wiv Me ft. Calvin Harris & Chrome (2008)
Though it would still be included on his fourth album a year after first being released, the Calvin Harris-produced Dance Wiv Me served as a bridge via which Dizzee would fully commit to his pop aspirations.
That album, Tongue N’ Cheek, was also home to three other Dizzee number ones – every chart topper he’s had to date, bar one (the less said about that very odd James Corden collab, the better). It confirmed the move away from his roots in grime and, spending four weeks atop the charts, remains the east London MC’s most commercially successful single to date.
3. Chipmunk – Oopsy Daisy (2009)
Before he lost the ‘munk’ and after he’d made a name for himself on incendiary Fuck Radio and Tim Westwood sets, Chipmunk was being hailed as the next big thing amid a raft of underground rappers being snapped up by major labels.
He’d made a dent in the Top 40 with the playful teen-hop of Chip Diddy Chip, but fully cemented his move into the mainstream with the school disco fodder of Oopsy Daisy – his first and only UK number one to date.
The track has since become a cheap shot for other MCs aiming to question his authenticity as a rapper with street credentials, but it counts as a notch in Chip’s belt nonetheless as he continues to explore a variety of sounds and styles.
4. Tinie Tempah – Pass Out (2009)
A matter of weeks after Oopsy Daisy took the UK’s top spot, another young grime-upstart-cum-pop-rapper would debut their own chart topper.
Tinie Tempah had already shown aspirations that stretched beyond pirate radio sessions with 2007’s saccharine Wifey Riddim, but Pass Out would set him on a run that has since netted a further six number one singles.
The track landed at a time in which the likes of Chase & Status, Pendulum, and Sub Focus were leading the charge in palatable, big room dance music – and Pass Out arrived ready-made to ride that wave.
5. Wretch 32 – Don’t Go ft. Josh Kumra (2011)
Wretch 32 had long been regarded in grime circles as ‘your favourite grime MC’s favourite MC’. He was known for his complex metaphors and characteristic drifting flow, and came with the kind of intellect that meant his songwriting could go deeper than braggadocio.
His debut album proper, Black & White, was seen as a coming of age for the grime scene veteran. When Don’t Go, the second single from the album, secured the chart’s top spot, Wretch’s elder statesman standing was confirmed.
6. Dappy – No Regrets (2011)
Despite the platinum success of their albums, N-Dubz (where Dappy began his musical career) only ever hit the top spot once in the singles chart – as a featured artist on Tinchy Stryder’s aptly titled Number 1 in 2009.
So when the trio announced their hiatus in 2011 with the intention of pursuing solo projects, the race to the top spot was on.
While Tulisa would score a hit with Young the following year, it was Dappy who made it to number one first (Fazer, alas, never made it beyond number 17).
He did it with No Regrets, a typically anthemic slice of late noughties pop rap that had originally been recorded by his former band for the album that would have been their debut offering in the United States.
But N-Dubz weren’t to be completely erased from the track, as Fazer made a brief cameo appearance in the music video – decked out in a tux and playing a grand piano down a south LA sidestreet.
7. Professor Green – Read All About It ft. Emeli Sandé (2011)
Professor Green honed his craft on the freestyle rap battle circuit, fending off jibes about his mouthful of crooked teeth. His quick wits paid off, though, after he bagged £50,000 at a MySpace-hosted battle rap contest in 2008 and, the following year, found himself on tour with Lily Allen.
He was soon picked up by Virgin Records and, within the space of a few years, shaped into a chart-challenging rapper with a set of gleaming, £12,000 teeth. Read All About It was released as the second single from his sophomore album with the label and, backed by Radio 2-favourite Emeli Sandé, swung straight in at number one.
8. Wiley – Heatwave ft. Ms D (2012)
A full four years after Wearing My Rolex had come so close – fended off from the top spot by Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland’s 4 Minutes – Wiley returned for another shot.
In the intervening period he’d found time to release five other albums, and leak more than 200 songs for free online. But summer of 2012 would be the time when the Godfather of Grime would claim his pop chart scalp.
Featuring Ms. D (who had also contributed vocals to Chipmunk’s Oopsy Daisy), the track was a shameless soca-europop crossover and probably the only number one single to include an homage to Slush Puppies (in both flavours).
And the only UK rapper to score a number one single on the US Billboard’s Hot 100…?
Taio Cruz with, well, this:
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