The Next Step Is Defining For Chip’s Legendary Career
By Joe Simpson @joeygbucketz
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For over 15 years, Chip has been a constant presence in the UK scene, transforming himself across genres and eras of MC culture whilst still having the ability to stay as relevant as he’s ever been going into his 30’s. It is telling that Ice Kid, Chip’s partner in crime when Wiley brought the two of them through for their legendary Tim Westwood set in 2007, struggled to maintain his presence in the rap game during the decade of the 2010’s, while Chip’s career arc has allowed the Tottenham rapper to consolidate his position at the upper echelons of any top 10 list. From the mainstream successes at the start of his career, to being a constant thorn in the side of any MC who might dare speak his name, the artist formerly known as Chipmunk is now entering a stage of his career which requires a new found level of clarity and artistry. It is apparent that the likes of Ghetts, Kano, and Skepta, veterans and sparring partners of Chip who came up during the golden era of grime music, are making some of the best music of their respective careers, while it can be seen that Chip is still lacking a classic album to establish himself outright as the greatest of his generation. However, Chip certainly has the ability to unleash such a project at any time, owing to his penmanship and versatility on the microphone. Here, we will look back at the career of one of the most groundbreaking UK rappers and see where the next stage of his career will take him.
As soon as Chipmunk entered the fray as a teenager, it would come as no surprise that the North London rapper would become a mainstream sensation in the United Kingdom, while his talents and marketability would also see him cross over to the States, opening doors for other rappers in the UK. At this stage, Chip was a teenager with prodigious talent whose lyrics and subject matters were not concerned with the gritty underbelly of violent crime stereotypically associated with the genres of grime and UK rap. It is no surprise then, that he was signed to a major label at the age of 19 and his debut album, ‘I Am Chipmunk’, soared to number 2 in the UK charts. I think it would be fair to say that whilst this record gained commercial success, this was not a place where Chip showcased his impeccable lyricism and technical flows. Instead, to find this during this period of his career we would have to look at his sets on F*ck Radio, as the youthful Chip pitted himself against the seasoned veterans of Ghetts, Devlin, and Griminal. For a ‘mainstream’ rapper to hold his own on such a platform is a testament to Chip’s pen game, albeit not surprising considering this was the kind of platform that he cut his teeth on. It is further demonstrative that Chip’s early entrance into the industry may have worked against him in terms of producing classic records, as his early signing to a label would have put pressure on creating music that would be commercially successful, rather than possessing any kind of long-lasting quality. This is not to say that ‘I Am Chipmunk’, or ‘Transition’ are littered with bad songs, but the examples of ‘Oopsy Daisy’, or ‘Diamond Rings’ demonstrate that these releases were intended to create mainstream popular music, rather than a classic UK Rap album.
The next stage of Chip’s career saw him return from Atlanta and make his presence felt in the UK Grime scene. His legendary beefs with Yungen, Bugzy Malone, and Tinie Tempah cemented the Tottenham rapper as a ruthless and dynamic MC, as Chip did not shirk any kind of challenge and came out all guns blazing against anyone who tested his pen. ‘Michelle Riddim’ and ‘Peri Peri Sauce Riddim’ stand out as some of the most disrespectful and powerful diss tracks to come out of the UK, as the latter track sees Chip toy with Yungen on a more relaxed beat, spitting over the instrumental to ‘You, Me, Him, and Her’ by Jay Z. Chip therefore places Yungen as the ‘her’, whilst the ‘you, me and him’ refers to Chip, Krept and Konan, who are the remaining members of the Play Dirty crew. This attention to detail and switch up in Chip’s attack prove his talent to be elite, as at this stage the North Londoner had a target on his back, yet he had the technical prowess and ability to both defend himself and gain the front foot in a lyrical war. Chip also stepped up his game in terms of his discography, as both ‘Believe and Achieve’, and ‘A League of My Own 2’ have stand out tracks that move away from pandering to the mainstream market. The latter album contains several stand out tracks, such as ‘Scene’, and ‘Confirmed’, yet neither of these records feel like a cohesive body of work. It can therefore be seen that while at this stage of his career arc, Chip had proved himself to be one of the very best to come out of the UK, yet this did not translate to a seminal album. The records I have stated feel as if they are more of an exhibition of Chip’s versatility, instead of honing in on one sound and perfecting it.
Perhaps the album that will most stand out in terms of Chip’s legacy is ‘Insomnia’, the collaboration album between him, Young Adz, and Skepta. This project brought together three different generations of UK Rap, and while Young Adz would not have been my choice to fill out the roster, Chip runs rings around the other two rappers on several of the tracks. His verse on ‘Waze’ ignited a beef with Stormzy, where Chip once again proved that he was not a man to be tested when it came to lyrical warfare, whilst ‘High Road’ and ‘Mains’ demonstrate the rapper’s ability to expand his sound and move across the genres of UK Rap. His last body of work, ‘Snakes and Ladders’, falls into the same trappings as the albums previously discussed, as while there are stand out tracks on the project, such as ‘100K’ and ‘Done Know’, the rapper attempts to tick too many boxes in terms of variation, instead of creating an album which works as a singular body of work. Having said this, you only need to listen to the rapper’s Daily Duppy which preceded the release of the album to realise that Chip’s ability with lyrics and flows is only getting better with age.
It is easy to forget that Chip has only just turned 30, as he burst onto the scene at such a young age. As a Chip fan, this gives me hope that this next phase of his career will see the rapper create the classic album that his discography is lacking. If we look at Ghetts, this was also seen as the only thing missing from his career until he dropped ‘Conflict of Interest’, while Kano’s last two albums have cemented him as an all time great. I have every confidence that Chip has the ability to reach these heights, while his maturity in terms of sound and craft will only get better with age. If Chip wants to, he has all the tools to create a seminal UK Rap album that will cement his legacy as one of the greatest MCs this country has ever seen. It is now up to him to choose his next path, and whether he is willing to possibly sacrifice the commercial success of single tracks in order to create a record that works as a stand alone project.