Chip has soldified his place at the forefront of UK Grime music’s unlikely return to relevance. Free from the constraints of mainstream major labels and music industry gatekeepers Grime has managed to find a new life with the TikTok generation.
Chip has had a long and complex relationship with the music industry. Originally going by the name “Chipmunk” he was a protege of Grime legend Wiley and a part of his label “Eski Recordings”, gaining recognition from a freestyle with Ice Kid on the now disgraced DJ Westwoods BBC Radio 1 show.
He eventually signed with Sony Records, releasing his debut “I am Chipmunk” followed by Transition, with notable collaborations with Chris Brown, Mavado, Keri Hilson and Trey Songz.
A restructring at Sony UK led to him signing with American rapper T.I’s Grand Hustle Recordings (also including artists like BoB and Iggy Azalea). This period didn’t necessarily match the initial hype – the main output from this period was London Boy, a free mixtape, no longer available on streaming services. It did have features from Skepta, and various American and other international artists including Meek Mill, Jeezy and Movado. He also dropped the Chipmunk name – preferring to be known as “Chip”
Many fans had begun to question Chip’s credibilty at this time. He had left the Grime sound which he was known for, and was releasing more mainstream hip-hop and pop records. However as an independent artist with his own imprint Cash Motto records, he kept his place at the forefront of UK urban music with a steady stream of releases, and cemented his reputation as a lyricist with high profile beefs with Tinie Tempah, Bugzy Malone, Yungen and Stormzy.
His latest release Grime Scene Saviour is a solid return to form delivering 12 tracks of solid Grime and features from a who’s who of grime. Available now on all streaming services – if you want to know where grime is at right now this is undoubtedly one of the stand out releases of the year.
