Born Nathan Thompson in the early 1980s, raised by a single mum and the eldest of his siblings, he grew up in a less well off family in Peckham. Originally nicknamed 'Giggler' because of his tendency to laugh even in the most inappropriate situations, this was cut down to 'Giggs'. He became a father at the age of 21, but soon after spent two years in jail for gun possession.
He is known for rapping slowly in a low voice, which he described as "something different, enough to separate me from all the competing others".
Soon after being released from prison in 2005, Giggs started pursuing rapping as a career, instead of a hobby. Giggs and his SN1 crew started off releasing numerous mixtapes, including Hollowman Meets Blade, Welcome to Boomzville, Best of Giggs 1 and 2 and 3 and the hugely successful Ard Bodied, which featured the street anthem of 2008, "Talking the Hardest". His mixtapes have supposedly sold more than 100,000 units. This success helped his buzz expand outside London, however when Giggs first signed to XL Recordings, the record label was allegedly warned by members of Operation Trident to not back the London Rapper as Operation Trident is the Metropolitan Police's specialist team investigating gun crime within the black community in Peckham.
Giggs released the street anthem 'Talkin the Hardest' in 2008, which helped his growing buzz. The track features Giggs rapping over the beat from American hip-hop artist Stat Quo's track "Here We Go", originally produced by Dr. Dre. He then released his debut independent album Walk in da Park on 4 August 2008. The album had two official videos, for the tracks 'Uummm!!' and 'You Raised Me/Open Up'. Walk In Da Park received mainly positive reviews, and was very successful, selling out in most HMVs in the first two days of release.
Let Em Ave It is Giggs' second album and the first on a major label, under the XL Recordings label. "Look What the Cat Dragged In" was released on 7 June 2010 on XL Recordings, and is included on the album, which WAS released on 21 June 2010.
Singles released from the album include 'Slow Songs' featuring Mike Skinner and 'Don't Go There' featuring B.o.B.. In March 2010, "Don't Go There" entered the UK Singles Chart at #60. Giggs has been working with Atlantas JBizzy and produced around four tracks, "Whippin all day" (which can be downloaded for free from www.sn1giggs.com), "Background Ting" which can be heard on the official Giggs myspace www.myspace.com/trapstargiggs and two other which are going to be available on his album.
Giggs also has his own clothing brand, SN1 wear, including T-shirts, jackets and caps quoting previous lines from his songs such as "Talking the Hardest". These can be purchased from these SN1 store or the SN1wear website 'http://www.sn1wearltd.com/'.Giggs and the SN1 crew have opened a SN1 shop which can be found in Peckham Market. The shop sells clothing lines from the SN1 camp, as well as clothing from other designers. They also sell mixtapes and albums from SN1, Giggs and many UK artists.
Giggs has founded his own record label called SN1 Entertainment, it has not yet been confirmed whether or not it will be distributed through XL recordings. So far the only major releases on this label are Giggs debut album Walk in Da Park and Joe Grind Not Your Average Joe
Birthday
Giggs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't really like the distance,
Girl i beg you take 'em clothes off right this instant,
When i get inside babe i can be quite convincing
Ama beat it up right until my hoods tired and shrinking,
This is my boat baby I'm the captain,
Ama take it there to get your vagina splashing,
Come and get me baby where's that fire passion,
Your eyes and all your diamonds matching,
Looking good coz I'm getting that designer cash-in,
I got that paper work yeah my files are faxing,
So to drop a couple bags their was a myna fraction,
Get your birth place wet when its time for action,
I'm that birthday sex night time assassin,
Your a slight distraction,
The whole night am getting that,
Hold tight reaction.
The lyrics to Giggs's "Birthday" are a mix of explicit sexual content and braggadocio. The singer is inviting a woman closer to him and expresses his desire for her to take her clothes off. He claims that he is convincing and will beat it up until his "hoods" (meaning his penis) is tired and shrinking. The singer compares himself to a captain of a boat, taking the woman to reach orgasm. He also alludes to him having designer clothes and making money. He mentions that he had to drop a couple of bags (meaning money) as a fraction of the cost. Lastly, the singer labels himself as a birthday sex night-time assassin who is easily distracted by the woman's beauty.
Despite the explicit nature of the lyrics, they also reveal a power dynamic where the man brags about his wealth and sexual prowess while exploiting the woman's desire for him. The lyrics objectify the woman and strip her of her agency. There is a sense of entitlement on the singer's part to take the woman wherever he wants sexually without any concern for her pleasure or desires.
Overall, the lyrics to "Birthday" are troubling in their glorification of exploitation and disregard for the woman's autonomy. It reinforces harmful attitudes towards women and promotes toxic masculinity.
Line by Line Meaning
Come closer,
Giggs urges his partner to come closer to him.
I don't really like the distance,
He does not like the physical distance between him and his partner.
Girl i beg you take 'em clothes off right this instant,
He requests his partner to undress immediately.
When i get inside babe i can be quite convincing
Giggs assures his partner of his persuasiveness in bed.
Ama beat it up right until my hoods tired and shrinking,
He promises to give his best in bed, until he runs out of energy.
This is my boat baby I'm the captain,
Giggs sees himself as the leader of the sexual encounter.
Ama take it there to get your vagina splashing,
He aims to pleasure his partner to the extent of experiencing orgasm.
Come and get me baby where's that fire passion,
Giggs asks his partner to show him her passionate side.
Trying to play it down but your slightly gassing,
He senses his partner is aroused despite trying to hide it.
Your eyes and all your diamonds matching,
Giggs compliments his partner's appearance.
Looking good coz I'm getting that designer cash-in,
He implies that his wealth allows him to attract attractive partners.
I got that paper work yeah my files are faxing,
Giggs brags about his financial success.
So to drop a couple bags their was a myna fraction,
He spent a fraction of his wealth to impress his partner.
Get your birth place wet when its time for action,
Giggs suggests that his sexual prowess will satisfy his partner.
I'm that birthday sex night time assassin,
He sees himself as an expert in night-time sexual encounters, particularly on birthdays.
Your a slight distraction,
His partner is a minor distraction.
The whole night am getting that,
He plans to have sex with his partner throughout the night.
Hold tight reaction.
His partner's response to his sexual performance will be intense and positive.
Contributed by Sydney I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.