Dave (rapper)
David Orobosa Omoregie, known professionally as Dave or Santan Dave, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer.
Dave released his debut extended play Six Paths in 2016, after the release of a number of successful singles including "Thiago Silva" with AJ Tracey. In the same year, Canadian rapper Drake premiered a remix single of Dave's song "Wanna Know" featuring himself on OVO Sound Radio. Dave released his second EP Game Over in 2017. In 2018, his political song "Question Time" — which directed criticism towards the UK Government — won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song. In the same year he released "Funky Friday", featuring Fredo, which became his first number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart and Platinum certified release.
Dave's debut album Psychodrama was met with widespread critical acclaim and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, having the biggest first week streams for a British rap album. It went on to win the Mercury Prize and the Brit Award for Album of the Year. He made his acting debut in the third season of the Netflix series Top Boy, which was released in September 2019.
Early life
Dave was born David Orobosa Omoregie on 5 June 1998 in the Brixton area of South London, the youngest of three sons born to Nigerian parents. His father is a pastor and his mother a nurse. He was raised in nearby Streatham, where he began composing music at an early age, regularly writing lyrics in his early teens, even before engaging in production after his mother gave him a piano when he was 14. As of April 2019, Dave's brother Christopher was in prison, having been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 18 years for his involvement in the March 2010 gang murder of 15-year-old Sofyen Belamouadden at London Victoria station; their other brother, Benjamin, was jailed for four years for conspiracy to defraud.Dave Omoregie attended St Mark's Academy, a Church of England school in Mitcham, and, later, Richmond upon Thames College in Twickenham, where he studied law, philosophy, and ethics while also completing an additional module in sound design and politics. He secured a place at De Montfort University in Leicester to study law but never attended, choosing instead to focus on his musical career.
Music career
2015–2017: Career beginnings and ''Six Paths''
Dave made his debut appearance on a platform named BL@CKBOX in May 2015 he dropped a single with just audio on Mixtape Madness called "Mid Summer Night" and later progressed to Street Starz TV, a YouTube channel for freestyle rap, in September 2015. He performed his first SB.TV "Warm Up Session" with 1138 DripSquad in November 2015. His debut performance on Charlie Sloth's "Fire in the Booth", a freestyle segment on BBC Radio 1Xtra, was in March 2016. Dave's festival debut was at Bestival in August 2016, performing alongside AJ Tracey on their track "Thiago Silva" on the Eskimo Dance stage. He made a performance as part of the Red Bull Music Academy UK tour in October 2016.After releasing a range of non-album singles, Dave released his debut EP, Six Paths, on 30 September 2016. The extended play was produced by Dave, Fraser T Smith, 169 and entered at number 76 on the UK Albums Chart.
In October 2016, Drake premiered a remix to Dave's song "Wanna Know" on OVO Sound Radio, which also featured Drake and was released as a single. The song debuted at 72 on the Official Singles Chart and peaked at 51, becoming Dave's first entry on the chart.
2017–present: ''Game Over'' and ''Psychodrama''
Throughout 2017, Dave released the non-album singles "Samantha" with J Hus which peaked at 63 on the Official Singles Chart, becoming the third biggest song to not chart in the top 40 in 2017, "Revenge", "100M's" and "Tequila".On 9 October 2017, Dave announced his second extended play, Game Over, alongside the announcement of its accompanying tour. The EP was preceded by the politically-charged "Question Time". It was released on 3 November 2017 independently for streaming and digital download. Game Over was released on 3 November 2017 alongside the single "No Words." Game Over debuted at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart and "No Words" debuted at 18 before eventually peaking at 17 on 11 January 2018.
Dave won his first MOBO Award for the Best Newcomer Act at the 2017 ceremony on 29 November 2017. Dave released the single "Hangman" on 27 February 2018. In May 2018, Dave's song "Question Time" won Best Contemporary Song at the 2018 Ivor Novello Awards.
After a seven-month hiatus, Dave released "Funky Friday", featuring rapper Fredo, on 4 October 2018. The song debuted at number one in the UK, being only the third song to do so in 2018. This feat also meant that Dave secured his first ever number one single, as well as his first Top 10 single. After Dave hinted in interviews with BBC Radio 1 and then confirmed on 3 March, his debut album Psychodrama was released on 8 March 2019. Psychodrama debuted at number one in the UK, selling 26,390 copies in its first week, with 79% of its total generated by 26.3 million streams. The album had the biggest first week streams for a British rap album, eclipsing Stormzy's Gang Signs & Prayer. Elsewhere, the songs "Disaster", "Streatham", and "Location" debuted at 8, 9 and 11, respectively on the UK Singles Chart. Psychodrama is also currently one of the top 100 highest-rated hip-hop albums on Metacritic. On 30 June 2019 Dave made his Glastonbury debut. On 19 September 2019, Dave won the 2019 Mercury Prize for his debut studio album Psychodrama.
On 18 February 2020, Dave performed "Black" at the 2020 Brit Awards.
Musical style
Dave's collaborator and production partner is 169, who has several credits across Dave's discography. Alongside rapping and producing, Dave also plays piano.Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
As featured artist
Other charted and certified songs
Guest appearances
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2019 | Top Boy | Modie | Series 3 |