Tinchy Stryder Feat. N-Dubz - 'Number 1' Music Video Review - Hits Number One

I think I may be getting too old for this job. Tinchy Stryder is currently sitting at number one in the British singles chart with this song, appropriately titled Number 1. Great, except I hadn’t even heard of him until this week.

I try my hardest to keep up-to-date with all the new music which comes through, but it’s hard, and at my age you tend to get stuck in your ways and stick to what you like and what you know. However, I am open-minded (except when it comes to Michael Jackson and U2).

Stryder is a grime/UK garage artist, although this song is very commercial. There’s nothing wrong with that but he will have to deal with the fact he’s leaving his roots behind in order to sell records – never an easy thing to do.

I’m really not a fan of the current trend for chav (follow this link for a definition) music. It’s huge, I know this, as ordinary chavs see these chavs doing well and making money and buy into the whole thing. But I’m not of that ilk.

Number 1 by Tinchy Stryder moves into the chav genre purely for featuring N-Dubz. It’s unfortunate but that Feat. N-Dubz line makes all the difference. Stryder himself isn’t a chav but he’s chosen to align himself with a whole bunch of them. Which is a shame.

Luckily, it doesn’t ruin the song. It’s good – catchy, cleverly written with a nice hook, and brilliant to dance to – but not great. It’s one of those middling songs which fills a position in the charts without setting the world alight.

My advice to Tinchy Stryder – move away from the chavs and keep doing what you do. Don’t let N-Dubz influence you into releasing chart-friendly tracks which will be instantly forgotten once they finish.

Song: 6/10
Video: 3/10

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[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]