Dave

David Orobosa Omoregie (born June 5, 1998), professionally known as Dave or Santan Dave, is a rapper, producer and actor hailing from Streatham Vale, South West London. Dave’s plaintive rhymes strike many chords, both beautifully righteous and jaw-droppingly raw. Diverse in his writing choice, Dave’s wordplay and flow see him switch from conscious and emotional storytelling about his life and the world around him, to anthems about his ever-growing fame and fortune, with precision and finesse. Being very hands-on with his art, Dave also executively produces all of his own music, often under the name SANTAN. He is known to be a frequent collaborator with British composer and producer Fraser T. Smith as well as close friends Tyrell 169 and Kyle Evans. From a young age, Dave has been a classically trained pianist and has used his love for film soundtracks to influence his beats. He cites German score producer Hans Zimmer as one of his biggest inspirations and idols. He is also a semi-professional guitarist still in training and adding more instruments to his already impressive roster of talents. Dave started to impress hugely in mid-2015 with standout and heartfelt freestyles on platforms such as Bl@ckbox and SBTV Warm Up Sessions. Dave carried the momentum over to his debut single “JKYL+HYD” in January 2016. He started to gain major notoriety in the UK following the May 2016 single “Thiago Silva”, featuring Ladbroke Grove MC AJ Tracey, as well as his Fire In The Booth. Dave released his debut EP Six Paths in September 2016, in which started to gain him international recognition when Canadian superstar Drake co-signed him and remixed “Wanna Know”. Dave’s popularity saw a meteoric rise in 2017 following his single “Samantha,” featuring East London rapper J Hus. This led to his sophomore EP Game Over in November that year, which included the political anthem “Question Time,” a track which went on to earn Dave and Fraser T. Smith an Ivor Novella Award for Best Contemporary Song in 2018. After a seven month hiatus, Dave dropped his single “Funky Friday,” with West London rapper Fredo. The single went on to debut at Number 1 on the UK Single Charts, cementing it as the first song by a British rapper to reach the chart position, serving as a significant moment for British rap music history. In March 2019, Dave dropped his highly anticipated debut studio album, PSYCHODRAMA. The album was stylised as a year-long therapy session and saw lead singles “Location,” “Streatham”, and “Disaster” all enter the UK Top 10 Singles Chart. “Black” entered the Top 40 Singles Chart and earned Dave and Fraser T. Smith their second Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song in 2020. The album was a critical success which debuted at Number 1 on the UK Album Charts and eventually went BRIT Certified Platinum. Gathering achievements, the project also led to Dave winning Album of the Year at the 2020 BRITs, as well as the 2019 Mercury Prize. Many critics even place the album amongst the best debuts in UK Rap history. Closing out 2019, Dave also branched out into acting as he featured as the main antagonist in the third season of the Netflix-revived show, Top Boy. He received rave reviews for his portrayal of the villain, Modie. He also featured on the Top Boy Soundtrack with “Professor X,” and “God’s Eye”. Following a 17-month hiatus, Dave finally returned with the singles bundle Titanium & Mercury on April 10th 2021, acting as a precursor for his next project. He also featured on Future Utopia’s September 2020 single “Children Of The Internet” which secured Dave and Fraser T. Smith their third Ivor Novella Award for Best Cotemporary Song in 2021. Dave’s highly anticipated sophomore studio album We’re All Alone In This Together was released in July 2021. The album had the biggest opening week for a UK Rap album in the past decade, securing Dave his second Number 1 on the UK Album Charts, going BRIT Certified Silver on it’s debut and subsequently BRIT Certified Gold the following week. Three of the album’s tracks also entered the UK Top 10 Singles chart simultaneously including “Clash”, “Verdansk” and “In The Fire”. Dave himself secured the Best Hip-Hop/Rap act in 2022 BRITs. In March 2022, Dave released his “Fly Me To The Moon”-sampled single “Starlight” in which earned him second Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. In June 2023, Dave released his highly anticipated collaboration with West London rapper Central Cee on “Sprinter” which shot up to Number 1 on the official UK Album chart and had spent an entire month at pole position – being Dave’s third Number 1 single. The duo also released their surprise four-track EP Split Decision by the end of the week to critical acclaim.

Related performers: Vishnu Tha Supavillain , Cane , Trife Diesel , Ransom & Statik Selektah

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Number of songs Dave has created by producer

Singles

Warm Up Session [SBTV] produced by Statik Selektah