- Chipmunk (rapper)
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Chipmunk 
Background information Birth name Jahmaal Noel Fyffe Born November 26, 1990 Origin Tottenham, Greater London,
United KingdomGenres Hip hop, rap Occupations Rapper, singer, songwriter Instruments Singing, vocals Labels Jive, Sony Website www.officialchipmunk.com Jahmaal Noel Fyffe[1] (born November 26, 1990,[2]) known by his stage name Chipmunk, is a British hip hop rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, London.[3]
In 2008 he signed a record deal with Columbia Records of Sony Music UK,[4] He has successfully released five top-ten hits on the UK Singles Chart, of which "Oopsy Daisy" debuted at number-one. He released his debut album, I Am Chipmunk in 2009, which charted at number-two on the UK Albums Chart. His follow-up debut album, Transition was released on 18 April 2011. In 2008, Chipmunk was nominated for best newcomer at the MOBO Awards. It was later revealed he left the MOBO Awards with two awards, leaving with Best UK Newcomer and Best Hip-Hop act.[5] He also won Best Hip-Hop Act at the MOBO Awards 2009.[3] Himself and Emeli Sandé won an award for Best British Single for their song "Diamond Rings".[citation needed]
Contents
Career history
2009–10: I Am Chipmunk and breakthrough
In 2008, he signed a record deal with Columbia Records, Sony Music and began recording his first debut album. On 2 March 2009, he released his first single from the album, "Chip Diddy Chip". The single charted at number twenty-one on the UK Singles Charts.[6] It was written by Jahmaal Fyffe. The music video of the track featured Tim Westwood and Dappy of N-Dubz, and was filmed in his secondary school, Gladesmore Community School.[7] After the release of the single, he announced his album would be titled, I Am Chipmunk. Following the release of "Diamond Rings" which featured guest vocals from Emeli Sandé. The song became Sandé's and Chipmunk's first top 10 hit, after it charted at number-six on the UK Singles Charts.[8]
He released "Oopsy Daisy" as the third official single, the single featured guest vocals from Dayo Olatunji and was written by Talay Riley. "Oopsy Daisy" is Chipmunk's most successful single to date. The track debuted at number-one on the UK Singles Charts and it later gained a certification of Silver, by the BPI.[9] It was Chipmunk's first single released internationally. The song was accompanied by a music video, Chipmunk's love interest was played by Red Madrell, a British actress.[10] The song beat song candidates to the top spot, beating British girl-group, The Saturdays to number-one with their come-back single, "Forever Is Over".[11] After the release of I Am Chipmunk on 12 October 2009, it gained mainly positive reviews from critics. It debuted at number-two on the UK Albums Chart.[12] However, the album charted at number-one on the UK R&B Albums Chart.[13] A fourth single was released from the album, "Look for Me" featuring vocals from Talay Riley. The single charted at number-seven on the UK Singles Charts, the song also gained a Silver certification by the BPI.[14] The album then gained a Platinum Certification by the BPI.[15]
2011–present: Transition
Chipmunk announced he was working on a new studio album in late 2010, and confirmed it would be titled, Transition which he stated it would be different from the first album, stating: "It kinda represents the growth in me as a person since my last album, so the sound has matured as well as I have and that’s the main thing for me with the record - I just wanted the sound, the sound and the feel of the album to feel… I feel like a granddad but you know, just more mature than my first album, you know life’s changed." The album features American artists Keri Hilson,[16] Chris Brown, Trey Songz [17] and Kalenna Harper from Diddy-Dirty Money,[18] Jamaican dancehall musician Mavado [19] and British rapper Wretch 32.[20] He released a promotional single onto iTunes on 12 November 2010. The single charted at number seventy-two on the UK Singles Charts, with limited promotion.
In early 2011, he confirmed that "Champion" would be released as the first main-stream single from the album, and the single would feature American R&B singer, Chris Brown. The single was written by Harmony "H-Money" Samuels, Jahmaal Fyffe, Eric Bellinger, Erika Nuri.[21] The single charted at number-two on the UK Singles Charts, being held off the top spot by Jessie J and B.o.B with their entry with "Price Tag". However, both songs sold over 90,000 in their first week and Jessie J gained the top spot by 5%.[22] The song is now used by the WWE as entrance song for their show Tough Enough.
It was announced that "In the Air" would be released as the second main-stream single released from Transition the single would feature guest vocals from American R&B singer, Keri Hilson. The single was released on 11 March 2011.[23] The album Transition itself attained its UK release through Sony Music's Jive label on April 18, 2011.[24] He makes a cameo appearance in Wretch 32 and Example's video for Unorthodox.
The third single to be released from the album is titled "Take Off" and features Trey Songz.[25] Chipmunk also released a net video for the song "Every Gyal" featuring Mavado.[26]
On October 7, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records. With the shutdown, Chipmunk (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release his future material on the RCA Records brand. It does however remain a possibility that Chipmunk could be dropped from the label to balance the books as his follow-up album to I Am Chipmunk, Transition didn't sell nor chart as well as expected. In September of 2011, Chipmunk produced a mixtape called Spazzz.com. The Mixtape was a success. [27][28]
Discography
Studio albums
Main article: Chipmunk discography- I Am Chipmunk (2009)
- Transition (2011)
Awards
Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2008 MOBO Awards Best UK Newcomer[5] Won 2009 Best Hip-Hop Act[3] Won MP3 Music Awards The UGG Award – Urban / Garage / Grime[29] "Diamond Rings" Won References
- ^ Collins, Hattie Collins (19 July 2009). "The grime star Chipmunk: Diamond Rings". The Sunday Times (London: Times Newspapers Ltd). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6716272.ece. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- ^ "Artists - Chipmunk". The BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/54266e9c-7098-48ea-bb70-e25fdfa14227#p00b0bzjis. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ a b c Foster, Patrick (1 October 2009). "Move over Kanye, as Chipmunk from Tottenham crowned king of Mobo awards". London: Times Online. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6856049.ece. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ "Chipmunk". Sony Music. http://www.sonymusic.co.uk/artists/chipmunk. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ a b "MOBO Awards 2008–Winners Boards (Chipmunk)". Zimbio. http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/zNP7l5ZDR_w/MOBO+Awards+2008+Winners+Boards/AlD_JumlbYF/Chipmunk. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- ^ "Chipmunk - Chip Diddy Chip". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=34262. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ Chip diddy Chip music video was filmed in his secondary school
- ^ "Chipmunk Ft Emeli Sande - Diamond Rings". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=34436. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ "New Nation Single Review - Sep 2008 Photos from Ironik (Ironik) on Myspace". Myspace.com. 2011-04-21. http://www.myspace.com/djironik/photos/35743352. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ "Oopsy Daisy by Chipmunk Songfacts". Songfacts.com. 2009-10-11. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=17148. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ Sunday, October 11, 2009, 19:01 BST (2009-10-11). "Chipmunk beats The Saturdays to No.1 - Music News". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a181559/chipmunk-beats-the-saturdays-to-no1.html. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ "Burke beats Williams to top chart". BBC News. 18 October 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8313270.stm.
- ^ "Radio 1 - Chart - UK Top 40 RNB Albums". BBC. 2011-05-08. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/rnbalbums. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ "I Am Chipmunk - Platinum Edition: Chipmunk: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003D3NFD0. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ "Chipmunk - A level headed player". The Independent (London). 9 April 2010. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/chipmunk--a-level-headed-player-1939528.html.
- ^ UK Forthcoming Singles on radio1.gr
- ^ Chipmunk 'Transition' (Artwork + Tracklist) on ChipDaily.net
- ^ Chipmunk – Transition | Album Cover x Tracklisting on SoulCulture.co.uk
- ^ Trey and Keri aid Chip's Transition on TheSun.co.uk
- ^ TalaTela interview Chipmunk by CJ Rutter on 10 February 2011.
- ^ "Chipmunk: ‘Champion is already No 1 in my heart’". Metro.co.uk. 2011-02-10. http://www.metro.co.uk/music/855186-chipmunk-champion-is-already-no-1-in-my-heart. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ "Jessie J wins Champion chart battle as Lady Gaga swoops into Top 3". Theofficialcharts.com. 2011-02-13. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/chart-news/jessie-j-wins-champion-chart-battle-as-lady-gaga-swoops-into-top-3/. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/In-The-Air-Radio-Edit/dp/B004P9R8IO
- ^ Chipmunk interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' April 2011
- ^ http://www.officialchipmunk.com/gb/news/2011-05-19/new_single_take_off_ft_trey_songz/
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTrOiYe-2oQ&ob=av2e
- ^ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/rca-s-new-executive-team-named-under-ceo-1005324782.story
- ^ http://www.pappzd.com/2011/09/chipmunk-dropped-by-record-label-sony/
- ^ "MP3 Music Awards 2009 Winners". MP3 Music Awards 2009. http://www.mp3musicawards.co.uk/MMA_Winners.html. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
External links
Mixtapes League Of My Own (2007)Singles "Chip Diddy Chip" • "Diamond Rings" • "Oopsy Daisy" • "Look for Me" • "Until You Were Gone" • "Champion" • "In the Air" • "Take Off"Promotional singles "Beast" • "Flying High"Featured singles "Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)" • "I Got Soul" • "In Your Shoes" • "Number One Enemy" • "Game Over" • "Pow 2011" • "Teardrop"Related articles Categories:- 1990 births
- Grime artists
- Rappers from London
- English rappers
- Living people
- People from Tottenham
- Black British musicians
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