Stardom, the Brum heavyweight that has been releasing music since as far back as 2005, first began his journey when he was drawn to the cacophony of frenetic sounds from his older brother’s grime sets. Like anyone back then, Stardom himself of course dabbled in grime, but with his favourite rapper being Tupac, the pivot to rap was perhaps always predetermined.
Music wasn’t the only area that Stardom excelled in, football was another skill that Stardom was blessed with, and although many of us might tell that age old porkie, Stardom really could have gone professional; boasting stints with the likes of Derby County, Birmingham and Aston Villa. It wasn’t the fabled knee injury that held him back, the allure of the fast life, and him losing interest in the sport, didn’t see him take it to the top flight divisions.
This is something Stardom hopes to rectify with his musical exploits, and with his latest offering Street Profit out now, he’s sure to reach the top of the game after over a decade of hard graft. With that in mind, we take a look back at some of Stardom’s hardest tunes to date. Let us know some of your favourites on the socials!
“Pound Cake Remix”
In more recent times, “Lemon Pepper” has become the go to instrumental that saw countless MCs freestyle over, but in 2013 it was a different Drake track that the rappers flocked to. “Pound Cake” was the instrumental in question, and back in ‘013 Stardom laid down some cold vocals over the Boi 1Da production.
“Gang Bangers R Us” – Zimbo & Stardom Feat Big Ceaser
A young Stardom drops some heavy bars on this track from 2011, joined by fellow heavy hitters Zimbo and Big Ceaser. “Gang Bangers R Us” is an uncompromising look at the life the MCs were living at the time.
“TROUBLESUM” Feat Pepc & D.B
The Tupac influence is felt strongly throughout this tune. Fellow Tupac heads will recognise the similarity in the name of the track to a Pac classic, “Troublesome 96”. The beat is clearly inspired by the track itself, and even contains a well hidden sample of Pac’s harmonising on the chorus of the original.
“Gucci”
From the more traditional hard hitting rap, Stardom proves that he’s capable of wavier offerings with “Gucci”. The ostentatious set of visuals show Stardom surrounded by fast cars and beautiful women, the trappings that come with a life at the top of game. Showing he had more to offer than just street lyrics, tunes like this really set Stardom apart from many of his peers.
“Mbappe” Feat Snap Capone
Joined by South London rhymer Snap Capone, the pair combine to create a real standout offering in Stardom’s catalogue. “Mbappe”, of course in reference to the prolific French striker, sees the guys rhyming about their own exploits off the pitch.
“STRZ” – Snap Capone x Stardom x 1st Born
The pair would link up once more on another great track, this time joined by producer 1st Born. The trio breathed new life into the Christina Milian classic “Dip It Low”. The instrumental plus 1st Born’s vocals, tie together the hard hitting verses from Stardom and Snap Capone effortlessly.
“Body Language” – Youngs Teflon X Stardom
Youngs Teflon dropped one of the projects of the year with his new EP All Eyes on Me Against The World. “Body Language” with Stardom, was quickly singled out as one of the best tracks on the EP. Stardom himself drawing significant praise for his stellar work on the feature verse, once again proving that he should be in the conversation when we’re talking about the top wordsmiths in the game.
Street Profit is out now, be sure to buy/stream the project below!