Stryder started at the age of 14 on pirate radio sets in East London with other well known grime MCs such as Wiley and Dizzee Rascal. His stage name derives from the video game Strider which he played when he was young and from the nickname "Tinchy" given to him due to his short stature: his height at 5'1" (1.55m) making him the shortest male artist ever to top the UK Top 40. Tinchy made a number of appearances on Sky's Channel U and especially their 1Xtanra radio show taking part in freestyles, sometimes joined by his crew Ruff Sqwad. Tinchy Stryder was part of a spectacular line up at The O2 arena 3D ELEKTRO RAVE alongside Caspa and Rusko, Frankmusik, High Contrast and Dancing Robot Music.[7] Tinchy Stryder was part of well-known grime crew Roll Deep for a while, featuring on some songs including 'U Were Always', which was released years later on Roll Deep's compilations album, Street Anthems.
Many before him have tried and failed; in April 2009 Tinchy Stryder became the first artist ever to reach number 1 in the official national singles charts with a song title featuring the phrase ‘number one’. A self-fulfilling prophecy personified? Well, he’s certainly living up to his music moniker ‘Star in the Hood’.
Over the past six months, 23 year-old Tinchy has signed a recording deal with Island Records and has racked up three consecutive top 3 hits, ‘Take Me Back’ feat. Taio Cruz, released in January debuted at no 39 on downloads alone, the following week on it’s official release the single climbed 36 places to number 3, and maintained a Top 5 position for four weeks. In April, ‘Number 1’ feat. N-Dubz debuted at Number 1 and topped the UK charts for a whopping three weeks, this was followed in August by Tinchy’s second 1 single ‘Never Leave You’ featuring Amelle from the Sugababes.
Tinchy Stryder, is undoubtedly one of the UK’s most exciting artists, The Independent recently said, “If Grime was the football world, Tinchy Stryder would be like your Michael Owens and Wayne Rooney’s of today.” He just completed a sold out arena tour in September 2009, which caused such a demand with fans that he has had to put a larger arena tour straight on for February 2010.
Tinchy, real name Kwasi Danquah, was born in Ghana in 1986 and moved to East London at a young age. He was brought up and still lives in one of the capital’s most dangerous boroughs – Tower Hamlets; yet despite his tough upbringing he has a distinctly positive outlook on life and is determined to provide a positive role model for kids across the country. Having started making music, along with his group ‘Ruff Sqwad’, aged just 13 Tinchy has seen through the years the negative press that the music he loves has received and is on a mission to change this. He recently completed a degree in Digital Arts and Moving Imagery at University of East London.
“It’s important to me to show that black males aren’t all about looking threatening and robbing your granny” Tinchy quips. “It’s not always easy growing up in an inner city area, wherever it is, but in my music I want to show people that you can take that experience and turn it into something positive.”
“I guess my writing is pretty much from my life experience right now” says Tinchy. “That’s why I’ve focused a lot on the whole star in the hood thing – cos I’m still here – where I always have been, but now people know me, so I can’t always go the same places I used to be able to. I’m not in a rush to get out cos I know my area and I love it, but hopefully one day through my music I can.”
By the age of 21, Tinchy was a seasoned MC on the grime and London pirate radio scene. One of the industry’s main players, Wiley of ‘Wearin’ my Rolex’ fame, crowned Tinchy the ‘Prince of Grime’. In 2006 he was booked by two forward thinking teenagers, Archie Lamb and Jack Foster to play one of their club nights they ran while at school; this meeting changed the course of his career. The three of them struck an immediate bond and Tinchy signed to their company Takeover – for management, live, recording, merchandise and publishing. Together they designed the ‘Star in The Hood’ T-shirts which they sold on myspace and ebay and the profits financed the promotion/marketing of Tinchy’s debut album Star In The Hood. It’s now a flourishing clothing line, which has just expanded into retail, with the kind of profit margins that would impress Phillip Green. The buzz surrounding ‘Stryderman’, one of the singles released from the album caught the attention of execs at Island records. Tinchy Stryder, Jack and Archie signed a joint venture with the major at the end of 2008.
Having just released his major label debut, Catch 22, which went Gold within 2 weeks of release and just signing a joint venture deal with EMI Publishing alongside Takeover for a joint music publishing company allowing Tinchy Jack and Archie the opportunity to develop and invest in new talent, the future is looking extremely bright for Stryder.
As 2010 draws near he embarks on pushing the boundaries of Star In The Hood clothing and entering into partnerships with some of the UK’s largest retailers, planning his all new fully live show and summer full of festivals whilst also beginning the recording process for his second major label album with a host of exciting collaborators including re-uniting with Fraser T Smith and working with some of the top US record producers and writers, Tinchy is feeling great about the new year, “I’m out to takeover the world this time round, for 2010 and beyond” he smiles.
Shake Me
Tinchy Stryder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It feels like I'm in a dream (a dream)
Oh no, no, don't wake me
Just let me sleep don't wake me
This dream is crazy
I'm going in don't save me
Girl with the movie end
'Cause I'm all over again
Superstar ways I'm movin' in
It's fast, the lane I'm cruisin' in
Mad the pace we're rakin' in
It's great the way they're treatin' nims
So I soak it up, take it in
Nah man it can't be right, why?
We can go everywhere
Get picked up and drove everywhere
Nah man it can't be life
I'm a star and it shinin' bright
And that's on the darkest night
True stories here no lies
There in the dark I'll show them light
Because I need someone to shake me,
It feels like I'm in a dream (a dream)
Oh no, no, don't wake me
Just let me sleep don't wake me
This dream is crazy
I'm going in don't save me
So, the hype don't stop
The nights don't end
The feels, I'm real,
I won't pretend (nah)
When my eyes start opening
It's like a dream I'm floatin' in
Headline shows, collect my doe
And my star in the hood t-shirt it glows
Hear myself on daytime shows
I get excited listenin'
Hectic life sytle I'm leadin'
But I can't complain, not even
Tell 'em no, stop filmin'
Director, keep it rollin'(rollin')
'Cos I went from and extra
To Mr. Star Hood look who's next up
And I gave them a tester
And yet so far I'm safe with
Because I need someone to shake me,
It feels like I'm in a dream (a dream)
Oh no, no, don't wake me
Just let me sleep don't wake me
This dream is crazy
I'm going in don't save me
Chyo, we pressed record a while ago
But nobody told me go
No camera, action, live
And now I'm the star for the show
Feels like I'm halfway through the scene
And I never read that script,
Rehearsed the lines or read my bit
Look what's this supposed to mean? (mean)
When I step on stage
Now found they know my name
White gold not diamonds on my chain
I get stopped for pics, frames
It's like a never endin' film
And we pressed record a while ago
No alerts, no warnings, no
The movie started time ago
Because I need someone to shake me,
It feels like I'm in a dream (it feels like I'm in a dream (a dream)
Oh no, no, don't wake me (don't wake me)
Just let me sleep don't wake me (I said don't wake me)
This dream is crazy
I'm going in don't save me
Because I need someone to shake me,
It feels like I'm in a dream (a dream)
Oh no, no, don't wake me
Just let me sleep don't wake me (la da da da da da)
This dream is crazy
I'm going in don't save me
(La da da da da da)
Break it down
This dream is crazy,
I'm going in don't save me
This dream is crazy,
I'm going in don't save me
Ye ye ye ye
Just, just, don't save me
In Tinchy Stryder's song Shake Me, the artist describes his life as a dream he can't believe is real. He uses dream-like imagery to describe how surreal his newfound fame and success feel. At the same time, he doesn't want to wake up from his dream and is enjoying every moment of it.
The lyrics "Girl with the movie end, when does your life begin?" suggests that Tinchy Stryder sees himself as the singer of a movie and is questioning when his big moment will arrive. He talks about his superstar ways and the mad pace of his life as he immerses himself in his newfound fame. Despite the fact that his life has changed completely, and he no longer lives an ordinary existence, he is grateful for everything and can't believe how far he has come.
The chorus, "Because I need someone to shake me, it feels like I'm in a dream, oh no, no, don't wake me, just let me sleep don't wake me," underscores the idea that Tinchy Stryder is experiencing something incredible that he never imagined was possible. He's so happy that he doesn't want anyone to bring him back down to reality. Instead, he wants to stay in this dream-like state forever.
Overall, the lyrics suggest that Tinchy Stryder is enjoying every moment of his newfound fame and isn't going to let anyone or anything bring him down. Shake Me is a song that celebrates success and the highs that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Because I need someone to shake me,
I need someone to jolt me out of this feeling of being stuck in a dream
It feels like I'm in a dream (a dream)
It feels like I'm in an unreal, surreal world
Oh no, no, don't wake me
I don't want to be woken up from this dream
Just let me sleep don't wake me
I want to continue being in this dream
This dream is crazy
This dream is unbelievable and surreal
I'm going in don't save me
I'm fully immersed in this dream world and I don't want anyone to pull me out of it
Girl with the movie end
A reference to the storyline of a movie
When does your life begin?
When do you truly start living?
'Cause I'm all over again
Because I'm doing it all over again
Superstar ways I'm movin' in
I'm living like a superstar
It's fast, the lane I'm cruisin' in
I'm living life in the fast lane
Mad the pace we're rakin' in
We're making money at an incredibly fast pace
It's great the way they're treatin' nims
It's amazing how well they're treating me
So I soak it up, take it in
I'm enjoying it and cherishing every moment
Nah man it can't be right, why?
It seems too good to be true
We can go everywhere
We have the freedom to travel anywhere we want
Get picked up and drove everywhere
We have our own transportation to take us anywhere we need to go
I'm a star and it shinin' bright
I'm a star and I'm shining brightly
And that's on the darkest night
Even on the darkest night, my star still shines bright
True stories here no lies
What I'm saying is the truth and not a lie
There in the dark I'll show them light
I'll be a beacon of hope even in the darkest of times
So, the hype don't stop
I'm still receiving hype and recognition
The nights don't end
It feels like the good times will never end
The feels, I'm real,
These experiences are real and I'm feeling it
I won't pretend (nah)
I'm not faking anything for the cameras or anyone else
When my eyes start opening
When I start to become aware of my surroundings
It's like a dream I'm floatin' in
It still feels like I'm in a dream, not reality
Headline shows, collect my doe
I'm earning a lot of money from being the headline act
And my star in the hood t-shirt it glows
Even my merchandise has become popular and recognized
Hear myself on daytime shows
Even during the daytime, my music is being played and heard
I get excited listenin'
I still get a thrill when I hear my own music
Hectic life sytle I'm leadin'
My life is very busy and fast-paced
But I can't complain, not even
I have nothing to complain about, everything is going well for me
Tell 'em no, stop filmin'
I'm tired of being in front of the cameras and want them to stop filming
Director, keep it rollin'(rollin')
Keep filming and rolling the cameras
'Cos I went from and extra
Because I was once just an extra
To Mr. Star Hood look who's next up
Now, I'm the star and the focus of attention
And I gave them a tester
I gave them a taste of my talents
And yet so far I'm safe with
Despite everything, I'm still safe and secure
Chyo, we pressed record a while ago
We started filming a while ago
But nobody told me go
But no one told me to start acting or performing
No camera, action, live
There was no script, no action, and it was all happening in real life
And now I'm the star for the show
And now, I'm the main attraction
Feels like I'm halfway through the scene
It feels like the scene is half over
And I never read that script,
And I never even saw the script
Rehearsed the lines or read my bit
I never rehearsed or read my part
Look what's this supposed to mean? (mean)
What is this supposed to achieve or convey?
When I step on stage
When I go on stage to perform
Now found they know my name
Now, everyone knows who I am
White gold not diamonds on my chain
I wear white gold on my chain rather than diamonds
I get stopped for pics, frames
People want to take pictures with me and have me pose for their pictures
It's like a never endin' film
Everything seems like it's part of an ongoing movie script
No alerts, no warnings, no
There were no warning signs or indications of this happening
The movie started time ago
The movie started a long time ago and it's still ongoing
Just, just, don't save me
Just leave me be and don't interfere
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: KWASI DANQUAH, PRINCE OWUSU
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
dave g
I was the only one in California bumpin Tinchy NDubz and Tinie back in the early 2010’s
JXN_CSGO
same here in my city man!!
Treack Da Kid
breakbeat
Starry Gabes
Tell me he a pisces moon ♓♓♓