Chip

British rapper Chipmunk began his musical career during grime’s first wave of artists in the U.K., eventually moving toward a more mainstream hip-hop sound that brought him success in his home country and America. After the release of his second full-length, 2011′s Transition, Chipmunk officially shortened his name to Chip, signifying a gradual return to his grime roots. The change coincided with the collapse of Jive Records and Chip’s subsequent move to T.I.’s label Grand Hustle. His first release for the label was 2012’s London Boy mixtape, which featured both U.K. and American guests, including Iggy Azalea, Meek Mill, Skepta, and Wretch 32. Over the next three years — and two further mixtapes, Get Dough or Die and Rap vs. Grime — Chip re-established himself as grime artist; in particular an artist who wasn’t afraid out call out his peers, as in 2015 when he called out Tinie Tempah during a freestyle on BBC Radio One. Later the same year he also began feuds with Bugzy Malone and Yungen, as well as releasing a two-part EP series called Believe and Achieve. By 2017, Chip was fully submerged in the London grime scene; signified by the release of his third album, League of My Own II, which exclusively featured British artists, including Ghetts, Giggs, 67, JME, and Wiley. In 2020, Chip linked up with fellow London MCs Skepta and Young Adz for the collaborative Insomnia, a varied LP that merged the grime-heavy sonics of Chip and Skepta with the newer, trapwave-led sounds of their collaborator. After getting into an extended feud with Stormzy over an incident in summer 2020, Chip returned for his fourth album the following year — 2021′s Snakes & Ladders. ~ Liam Martin