Chip (rapper)
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe[1] (born 26 November 1990),[2] better known by his stage name Chip (previously Chipmunk), is a British rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. In the past 14 years he has collaborated with the likes of Skepta, T.I., Meek Mill, Young Adz and many others. In 2009, he released his debut album, I Am Chipmunk, featuring four songs which peaked in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, including the chart-topping "Oopsy Daisy". In 2011, Chipmunk released his follow-up album, the American hip hop-influenced Transition. It included the single "Champion" featuring Chris Brown, which peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart.
Chip
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe
- Chipmunk
26 November 1990
Tottenham, North London, England
- Rapper
- songwriter
Vocals
2004–present
- Jive (2009–2011)
- Grand Hustle (2012)
- Cash Motto (2014–present)
Chip moved to Atlanta in 2012 and signed to TI's Grand Hustle Records label. On Christmas Day, Chip released "London Boy", featuring the likes of Meek Mill, Skepta, Movado plus more.
Following his return to London, Chip embarked on a year-long rap beef which solidified his slogan "Chip Can't Run out of Bars". Following this, he has since released six projects, with his most recent being Insomnia, alongside Skepta and Young Adz.
Early life[edit]
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe was born on 26 November 1990 in Tottenham, and is the son of Jamaican immigrant parents.[3] Fyffe's parents later separated. Fyffe received the nickname "Chipmunk" from a friend (who was later stabbed to death) on account of him being "short and chubby with big teeth".[4] Fyffe began rapping after hearing Wiley and Dizzee Rascal on pirate radio when he was a child,[3] later inspiring him to rent studios out for £20 to record music with his friends when he was just thirteen years old.[4] Jahmaal attended Highgate Wood Secondary School in Crouch End, before transferring to Gladesmore Community School, citing that there were problems for him at Highgate Wood.[5] After completing secondary school education, he underwent his A-Levels at Haringey Sixth Form Centre, achieving a B in Drama, C in Sociology and D in Critical Thinking.[5]
Chip has been an Arsenal fan since childhood. Prior to a music career, Chip originally aspired to be a footballer.[6][7]
Controversies[edit]
Feud with Tinie Tempah[edit]
In 2015, Chip appeared on Charlie Sloth's radio show where he called out fellow London based rapper Tinie Tempah over the latter's interests and perceived exploitation of their relationship for personal benefit.[65][66] On 9 October 2015 he released "96 Bars of Revenge" in which he dissed both Tempah and Bugzy Malone.[67] He then followed this up with "Coward", which was aimed directly at Tempah.[68]
Feud with Bugzy Malone[edit]
Bugzy Malone released his "Fire in the Booth", a freestyle session hosted by BBC 1Xtra presenter Charlie Sloth, on 14 March 2015, mentioning Chip.[69] Chip replied to Malone's critics including him on his war dub "Pepper Riddim". This started the feud and drew attention to the grime scene early on in 2015. Malone released a war dub for Chip entitled "Relegation Riddim", travelling to Chip's hometown of Tottenham to film the video for the song.
Five months later, Chip released a number of tracks in his defence starting with "Light Work" on 11 September 2015. He then went on to release "Run Out Riddim" and "Hat Trick" in the same week. These three riddems was all uploaded on three different prominent UK platforms one after the other. GRMdaily, Link Up tv and SBTV. Around a month later on 9 October 2015 he released "96 Bars of Revenge" in which he dissed both Malone and Tinie Tempah. The rivalry continued as Malone then replied back with "Wasteman", Chip replied within 7 hours with "Dickhead", Malone then released the pre-recorded track "Zombie Riddim" via his Twitter account straight after "Dickhead" was uploaded. Malone stated that he would clash with Chip on Lord of the Mics, a battle rap show hosted by Boy Better Know member Jammer, for the right amount of money, and Chip has also stated that he would be willing as long as he would be clashing against both Malone and Tempah.[70]
Feud with Yungen[edit]
This feud started when Chip mentioned Yungen in "96 Bars of Revenge". Yungen replied the following year on his track "Comfy", which sparked the feud further. On 19 February 2016, Chip released "One Take" (freestyle) on his YouTube channel, dissing Yungen.[71] Yungen released a pre-recorded track one hour later titled "Punk (Shitmunk Diss)" which was a warning to Chip to take his freestyle down.[72] Chip replied in 24 hours with "Michelle Riddim", a diss track towards Yungen and Tinie Tempah.[73] Yungen responded quickly with "Oopsy Daisy Riddim",[74] and Chip has since responded once again with "L (Lil' Clive Diss 2)".[75] Recently the 'Oopsy Daisy Riddim (Shitmunk Diss) was taken down from YouTube after it contained a sample of Chipmunk's single "Oopsy Daisy", it was then re-loaded, this time with the copyrighted audio removed. After Yungen was filmed running from a man who gripped the rapper's arms, dropping his Nando's meal in the process, he released the track "Away Games". In response to a couple of slights from the track, Chip released his track "Peri Peri Sauce", aimed at the South London rapper.[76]
Feud with Stormzy[edit]
Chip became embroiled in a feud with fellow musician Stormzy, releasing diss tracks 'Killer MC' and 'Flowers' in October 2020.[77] This was in response to an incident in June, where Stormzy had entered his apartment block, argued with his family and refused to leave.[78] In January 2021, artist Ghetts released a track called "Skengman" featuring Stormzy where Stormzy referenced Chip on a number of lines. Soon after, Chip released a track called "10 Commandments", addressing Stormzy. July 2021 fellow artist Dave released a track called "Clash" featuring Stormzy where Stormzy briefly addressed the previous incident. Hours later Chip released an audio track entitled "Clash?" where he responded mainly to Stormzy but also referenced Dave in the response.[79]
Studio albums
Collaborative albums