Giggs

Nathaniel Thompson (born 11 May 1983), better known professionally as Giggs, is a British rapper and songwriter from Peckham, London.

In 2007, Giggs released the track "Talkin' da Hardest", which featured Giggs rapping over the instrumental of Stat Quo's song "Here We Go" originally produced by Dr. Dre.

"Talkin' da Hardest" was later certified silver after it was officially released.

He released his debut studio album Walk in da Park in 2008 and released a follow-up album Let Em Ave It the following year.

In 2008 he released his debut album Walk in da Park independently.

This album helped Giggs' popularity expand outside London and in 2008 he was nominated for the BET Awards in the US for Best Hip-Hop Act: UK.

Giggs won the award beating out more established acts at the time.

In August 2009 Giggs signed a record deal with XL Recordings.

Giggs released Let Em Ave It in 2009 and singles released from that album include "Slow Songs" featuring Mike Skinner, "Look What The Cat Dragged In" and "Don't Go There" featuring American rapper B.o.B.

At the Reading Festival in 2010, Giggs appeared on BBC Three, which was his first television appearance, performing his single "Look What The Cat Dragged In".

That year he also appeared on Tinchy Stryder's single "Game Over" Alongside Chipmunk, Devlin, Example, Tinie Tempah and Professor Green.

The single charted at No. 21 in the Official UK Singles Chart.

This year he was nominated at the MOBO awards in the Best UK Hip Hop/Grime category.

He was then nominated again for the same award in 2011.

Giggs released his third studio album When Will It Stop in October 2013.

In 2013, Giggs released the album When Will It Stop.

The album featured artists such as Ed Sheeran and Styles P.

It debuted at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming his highest-charting album at the time.

As Giggs geared up for the release of his album Landlord he featured on many records.

Two notable records were "Man Don't Care" by Jme and "Three Wheel Ups" by Kano, also featuring Wiley.

"Man Don't Care" went on to be certified Platinum in the UK by the BPI whilst "Three Wheel Ups" was certified silver.

In 2016, Giggs released his fourth album Landlord, which entered and peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart – becoming the highest-charting album of his career.

On 5 August 2016, Giggs released his fourth studio album 'Landlord' independently on SN1 Records.

The album features guest appearances from Stormzy, Rico Love, Donae'o and more.

It was received well and garnered very positive reviews.

Landlord became Giggs' highest entry on the UK Albums Chart, debuting at number two.

Landlord was nominated for Best Album at the 2016 MOBO Awards.

Also in 2016, Giggs was nominated for several awards at the KA & GRM Daily Rated Awards.

On the night he walked away with the Artist of the Year Award.

His mixtape Wamp 2 Dem was released in 2017 and also debuted at No. 2. His latest album Now or Never was released in 2020.

Giggs is also the frontman and founder of record label and rap collective SN1 (Spare No 1), which includes Gunna Dee, Joe Grind, Kyze and Tiny Boost.

While sometimes referred to as a grime MC, Giggs has repeatedly stated the music he makes is not grime, but rather falls under the UK rap umbrella.

Raised by Caribbean parents, Giggs was a DJ in Peckham, predominantly playing reggae, ragga and Dancehall.

He also had his own radio station called "Spare No One FM".

Giggs' stage name is derived from his childhood nickname of Giggler, and on some of his earliest releases he was also credited as Gig.

After deciding to pursue a music career, he released numerous mixtapes including Hollowman Meets Blade which featured Blade Brown, Welcome to Boomzville, Best of Giggs 1 and 2 and 3 and Ard Bodied, which featured Dubz.

His mixtapes have supposedly sold more than 10,000 units.

This success helped his popularity expand outside London.

The album was preceded by the lead single "Whippin Excursion" and followed up with the club-themed "Lock Doh", which achieved a Platinum certification from the BPI in March 2018, “Whipping Excursion” also went on to be certified silver.

The album Landlord also went on to be certified silver by the BPI.