Craig David

Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer-songwriter who rose to fame in 1999 featuring on the single "Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut album, Born to Do It, was released in 2000, after which he has released a further five studio albums and worked with a variety of artists such as Tinchy Stryder, Kano, Jay Sean, Rita Ora and Sting. David has 14 UK Top 10 singles, and six UK Top 20 albums, selling over 13 million records worldwide as a solo artist.

David has been nominated for twelve Brit Awards: three times for Best British Male, and twice received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Early life

David was born in Southampton, Hampshire, the son of Tina (née Loftus), a retail assistant at Superdrug, and George David, a carpenter, and grew up in the Holyrood estate. David's father is Afro-Grenadian and David's mother is Anglo-Jewish and related to the founders of the Accurist watch-making company; David's maternal grandfather was an Orthodox Jew and his maternal grandmother a convert to Judaism. David's parents separated when he was eight and he was raised by his mother. He attended Bellemoor School and Southampton City College.

The Bassline (club)

The Bassline is a popular music venue and club in Johannesburg, South Africa. The original Bassline, established in 1994 in the Melville neighborhood of Johannesburg, closed in 2003, only to reopen in Newtown.

As well as being popular among young residents of the city, the Bassline became an important stage for some of the hottest Jazz musicians in South Africa. Many popular albums were recorded live at the Bassline, and the record company of the same name became a fixture in the Johannesburg music scene.

Musicians who have played at the Bassline include Vusi Mahlasela, Marcus Wyatt, and Tumi and the Volume.

The Bassline also inspired a fictional identity as an important place-name in the novel Live at the Bassline.

Big Narstie

Tyrone Lindo (born 16 November 1985), better known by his stage name Big Narstie, is an English rapper and MC. He started his career in 2003 as a member of grime crew N Double A, though he is better known for his solo work and as an internet personality.

Career

2000s

In 2006, Big Narstie signed to independent urban label, Dice Recordings. Sampling Coldplay, it was one of the first grime/indie tracks to be supported by personalities from multiple mainstream radio stations. His track "Brushman" was also named RWD magazine's "Song of the Year".

Big Narstie has featured on records including Professor Green's "Before I Die Remix" and N-Dubz's "N-Dubz vs N.A.A", from their debut album Uncle B. Big Narstie continued to record and released three other mixtapes: Mind of a Fat Guy,Drugs and Chicken, and I'm Betta Than U, which had guest appearances from Giggs, Scorcher, and Wretch 32.

2010s

Big Narstie released his first mix CD of the year in February 2012, called Pain Overload. Shortly after, Pain Is Love was released in July for free download via SB.TV. Big Narstie's first official E.P, #PAIN was released in October and entered at number 5 in the iTunes UK Hip Hop chart and he won the 2012 Urban Music Award (UMAs) for Best Grime Act beating artists like Skepta, Lethal Bizzle and Dot Rotten.

When the Bassline Drops

"When the Bassline Drops" is a song by English recording artist Craig David and English grime artist Big Narstie. David's first single in six years, it was released on 27 November 2015 through Speakerbox Media as the lead single from his upcoming sixth studio album Following My Intuition (2016). The song was written by David, Scott Wild and Tyrone Lindo.

Background

The song sees David return to his UK garage roots, and is his first single release since "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)" in May 2010. The "Ravers Edition" music video was released on 10 December. The song premiered on MistaJam's show on BBC Radio 1Xtra on 7 November 2015.

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart on 4 December 2015, before climbing to number 12 seven weeks later. This gave David his first Top 20 hit since "Hot Stuff (Let's Dance)" in 2007. To date, the single has peaked at number 10, giving David his thirteenth UK top 10 and his biggest hit in over eight years.

Live Lounge

The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio station BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. Originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid-morning radio show and then by Fearne Cotton from 2009 until 2015. It is now hosted by Clara Amfo, she has been the host since May 2015. it exhibits well-known artists usually performing one song of their own and one by another artist, in an acoustic format. The 'Live Lounge' itself is also a physical room in the Radio 1 studios, from where some of the performances are broadcast; however, due to its size, many are done from the BBC Maida Vale Studios. Since 2009, Trevor Nelson has hosted Live Lounges on his BBC Radio 1Xtra show.

The songs chosen as cover versions are often a completely different genre to that which the artist usually performs, and offer a new perspective on the original. Jamie Cullum's cover of Pharrell Williams's "Frontin'" led to Cullum being signed to Pharrell's label Star Trak when played to him at a later visit to The Jo Whiley Show, and was added to his 2003 album Twentysomething.