Fredo

Fredo is one of the United Kingdom’s most popular rappers, consistently reaching the Top Ten with his albums and mixtapes. Hailing from West London’s Mozart Estate, Marvin William Bailey lived the street life as part of the Harrow Road Boyz before he began translating his struggle-led lifestyle to the mike under the alias of Fredo. Delivering his verses in a blunt, almost effortless style, the rapper produces radio anthems and underground classics in equal measure, finding his biggest victory to date alongside Dave on the number one-charting “Funky Friday” (2018). The pair scored another major hit three years later with “Money Talks,” while Fredo has continued releasing successful albums such as Money Can’t Buy Happiness (2021) and Unfinished Business (2023). Few debut singles have as much impact as Fredo’s “They Ain’t 100.” Marking not only Bailey’s first single, but his first time on the mike, the 2016 track received millions of streams across the U.K., swiftly landing an OVO Sound Radio co-sign from Canadian superstar Drake. The same year, he released two further singles — the swaggering “TrapSpot” and bassy “Pattern Gang” — before being featured on the remix to Kojo Funds and Abra Cadabra’s “Dun Talkin” alongside Yxng Bane, Frisco, and JME. With a forthright, almost-spoken delivery, Fredo’s narratives embraced the authentic experiences of the Harrow Road Boyz street gang, capped off with the heavy, swaggering soundscapes of the mid-2010s trap scene. Soon, Fredo was building the foundations for his debut mixtape. In early 2017, the rapper dropped the brash “Get the Pot,” while an appearance on the Fire in the Booth freestyle series cemented him as one of the city’s hottest rising talents. The tape, titled Get Rich or Get Recalled (a nod to primary influence 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin'), arrived in March that year. Lacing the bravado of his work thus far with a smattering of conflicted street tales, Fredo’s debut tape provided the high-stakes narratives and blunt-force braggadocio fans had come to expect from the West London talent. Sophomore tape Tables Turn arrived just a year later, taking a noticeably more radio-ready tone with traces of Afroswing and a feature from Hackney’s Not3s. Yet it was a quick pair of singles that turned Fredo from hot talent into national superstar: an appearance on Stay Flee Get Lizzy’s “Ay Caramba” provided the rapper his first Top 40 appearance, before the Dave collaboration “Funky Friday” landed Fredo the coveted number one spot in October 2018. A modern classic of the U.K. rap scene, the track saw both MCs trade slick, cocky bars over a minimal beat, marking both artists’ first chart-topping appearance. Moving into 2019, Fredo used his newfound momentum to drop debut album Third Avenue, which painted a rounded picture of the MC and produced Top 40 hits “All I Ever Wanted” (with Dave) and “BMT.” Another major success came just a few months later with the MIST collaboration “So High,” a bouncy, club-led banger that peaked at the number seven spot on the UK charts. After closing out the year with a show-stopping appearance on Daily Duppy, as well as charting singles “Netflix & Chill” and “I’m the One,” the MC set to work on his sophomore album, Money Can’t Buy Happiness. Previewed by anthems including “Scorpion,” “Back to Basics,” and third Dave collaboration “Money Talks,” Fredo’s second full-length revealed new directions for the stalwart MC, such as his U.K. drill debut, while continuing to deliver the weighty trap on which he built his name. The set arrived in January 2021 and reached the runner-up position on the charts. Fredo didn’t slow down after the album’s success, releasing further hit singles like “Meant to Be” (with Stay Flee Get Lizzy and Central Cee) and tracks which appeared on the full-length Independence Day, his fourth consecutive Top Ten on the album chart. His only release in 2022 was the ominous, six-minute “I’m Back,” which made the Top 40. In 2023, Fredo appeared on Stormzy’s hit “Toxic Trait,” and released his own charting single like “Dave Flow” and “Everybody Knows.” Unfinished Business arrived in August and became another Top Ten hit. ~ David Crone & Liam Martin