We’ve fielded an incredibly strong line up for this year’s SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, with the likes of Wretch 32, Jaykae, Avelino, AJ Tracey and Not3s to name a few flying the flag for British music. It’s clear that our music has quickly become one of the country’s biggest exports as people clamour for more. Let’s take a look at how this clamour for more has translated into chart statistics this week.
The grime golden child Stormzy is still doing bits despite not releasing any solo music for a while now. The number one debut album Gang Signs and Prayer is still riding high at number 25 in the album charts and has been in the charts for a mind boggling 55 weeks and counting. The album charts isn’t the only place Stormz calls home these days, with the instant classic “Blinded By Your Grace Pt 2” falling just outside the top 30 at number 31, and his James Bond esque collaboration with Jorja Smith “Let me Down” slips just outside the top 40 to number 42. We can’t wait to see what the unstoppable Stormzy has in store for us next.
Mabel and Not3s’s infectious collaborative effort with “Fine Line” is this week’s highest placing track coming in at number 11. The catchy tune can be heard on radio waves and DJ monitors in raves across the country. The video (shot in South Africa) is currently sitting comfortably at just over the seven million views mark. Another hard collaboration is Raye and Kojo Fund’s link up on “Check” which finds itself at number 26 this week. Listeners with a sharp ear will recognise the Craig David classic “Seven Days” sample that the duo use to create some fresh waves with.
The story of this week’s chart is undoubtedly the wavy collabs. Another top collaboration that showcases the wealth of talent the scene has at the moment is M.O, Lotto Boyzz and Mr Eazi’s banger “Bad Vibes” which has climbed from number 50 to number 27 and is most certainly going to continue its meteoric rise. The wavey visuals which premiered on our channel and has already accumulated well over two million views in an incredibly short space of time is another reflection of the tunes growing reach. If you’re not one of those two and a half million, you can catch the video right here exclusively on GRM Daily.
Ramz and the tune that we couldn’t escape, “Barking”, is still doing the numbers despite not being as ever present as it once was and is at number 29. MoStack’s huge return “What I Wanna”, complete with probably a strong contender for video of the year courtesy of top shooter Kaylum Dennis, comes in at a respectable 36, moving up one place from last week. Just two places below is Hardy Caprio’s “Rapper” at number 38. Hardy Caprio is another one of the artists lucky enough to be repping the culture across the pond at the SXSW Festival. Be sure to check back next week for another comprehensive chart round up.