Tinchy Stryder: No.1 Hits, Grime Power, Millions Made & Why I Stepped Away - The SITH FULL STORY!

Tinchy Stryder sits down for one of his most open and detailed interviews ever. From growing up between Ghana and East London, to becoming one of the first grime artists to dominate the UK charts, Tinchy breaks down the real story behind the No.1 hits, millions made, industry politics, and why he chose to step away at his peak. This conversation covers the birth of grime, the rise of Ruff Sqwad, working with Wiley and Dizzee Rascal, the truth behind “Game Over”, mainstream crossover, record deals, tax mistakes, and the mental cost of fame. Tinchy also opens up about: Going No.1 multiple times in the UK Being the biggest selling male artist of 2009 Island Records, 360 deals & show money Star In The Hood clothing making millions Rihanna wearing Star In The Hood Meeting Jay-Z Stepping back from music & finding stability Reality TV, reinvention & independence The state of grime today and a possible resurgence This is not just an interview — it’s a UK music history lesson, a business reality check, and a legacy conversation. 👇 CHAPTERS BELOW – jump to any moment #TinchyStryder #Grime #UKRap #MusicIndustry #Podcast #shizzio Chapters: 0:00 Intro 1:40 Streetlife out now Shizzio X Uk Apache X Devlin 2:01 Welcome Tinchy Stryder 3:49 born & raised in Ghana / school 5:55 I love football & food 9:21 table tennis challenge issued / paddle 10:29 I got caned in school 11:25 Ghana is the best! / family first 12:22 moving to London / I does this 15:36 keeping behaviour in check outside 16:21 secondary school 18:50 St Bonds breeds musical stars 19:30 learning to MC / Dj decks at home 20:16 Dizzee Rascal used to come to my house 20:47 gaining MC stripes / 1st lyric / making tapes 21:48 Football Vs Mcing 24:20 Mcing takes over / Ruff Sqwad is born 26:38 bait lyrics / performing / I was shy! 27:35 getting the name Tinchy Stryder 29:56 scene grows / So Solid / PAYG 30:35 school grades / famous in uni 31:39 Ruff Sqwad levels always high 32:31 Stormy using Ruff Sqwad beat for ‘Shut up’ 33:21 Wiley reached out to me / rolling with Wiley 37:36 releasing vinyls / Wiley / Maxwell D 38:35 management with Jack & Archie / Takeover ENT 41:44 making ’Stryderman’ / Island Records attention 43:31 Star In The Hood 44:26 Island Records deal / Taio Cruz 46:26 Big up Benny Scarrs / Ghana 48:03 money made / spending / tax 49:31 Taio Cruz collab hits top 3 / handling fame 51:12 being one of the 1st in mainstream 52:26 are you a grime artist? / Fraser T Smith trust 54:25 mistakes made / wrong direction 55:53 ‘Game Over’ wrong song to release? / Giggs 1st? 59:12 who has the best verse on ‘Game Over’ 59:55 ‘Game Over’ started the Chip & Tinie Tempah beef 1:02:03 No 1 N Dubz song / Dappy flowers 1:04:28 going to No 1 in the UK charts 1:05:34 biggest selling male artist in 2009 1:06:12 Island record deal / money made / tax 1:07:24 show money / PA’s across the UK 1:08:09 money regrets / spending / investing 1:09:28 most craziest purchase / shades 1:10:18 360 record label deal details 1:11:22 Star In The Hood clothing 1:14:23 SITH clothing made millions 1:17:36 Rihanna wore Star In The Hood 1:18:34 meeting Jay Z 1:18:54 2nd No1 with Amelle / ego 1:20:08 easy sample approval 1:20:55 album goes no 2 / Calvin Harris 1:22:09 ‘cloud 9 strydes’ & ‘flee’ 1:22:45 why are Ruff Squad not included more? 1:24:35 3rd album deal / Darcus Beese 1:26:29 money made / Brand deals 1:27:45 3rd album fails / audience disconnect 1:30:08 why did the 3rd album fail? 1:30:58 top 10 songs but no album 1:31:32 parting ways with Island records 1:32:26 dealing with fame loss 1:34:48 careful going out / money safety net 1:36:08 leaving management / Dave 1:37:30 I’m a celebrity Vs Big Brother offers 1:38:55 going on I’m a celebrity get me out of here 1:41:21 viral rap with Michael Burk on I’m a celeb 1:42:44 doing jungle challenges 1:44:22 coming out of the celebrity jungle 1:46:14 ‘spaceship’ song with Dappy / 2nd wind 1:47:45 self doubt / complacent / I paid for everything 1:49:26 celebrity Juice / Holly Willoughby 1:50:07 change / nothing stays the same / shows 1:51:00 new music / Kojo Funds collab 1:51:35 being an independent artist now 1:52:13 new livestream / Tiktok world / no rush 1:53:27 family / headphone deal / cash cow 1:55:10 SITH clothing will return / Star Wars 1:56:18 AI Q’s / success speed 1:56:50 did you use Grime for pop success? 1:57:41 who started Grime? / is ‘Oi’ Grime? 1:59:03 No 1 tax / pop used Grime 2:00:08 Grime jealousy of pop success 2:00:51 stepping away / industry profit 2:01:27 2026 Grime resurgence 2:02:08 thoughts on Chip Vs Ambush 2:02:37 LOTM clash with Earz / fav clashes 2:04:24 social media then / new gen 2:05:24 did ‘Game Over’ cost you relevance? 2:06:11 image / grime ownership 2:07:01 did you disappear? / Grime respect 2:07:31 charts / still hungry 2:08:03 quick fire Q’s 2:11:27 Top 5 Grime artists / Top 3 Grime songs 2:12:31 Thank you Tinchy Stryder / flowers