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Rat Boy

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For other uses, see Ratboy (disambiguation).

Rat Boy
Rat Boy performing in 2017
Rat Boy performing in 2017
Background information
Birth nameJordan Cardy
Born (1996-02-21) February 21, 1996 (age 28)
Chelmsford, Essex, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Years active2013–present
Labels
Epitaph Records
SpouseLucy Cardy
Websiteratboy.co.uk

Jordan Cardy (born 1996), known by his stage name Rat Boy, is an English musician from Chelmsford, Essex.

Early life

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Cardy was born in Chelmsford, England in 1996. He studied at Chelmer Valley High School in Chelmsford and went on to study Art at Colchester Institute. Despite being dyslexic,[2] he began writing songs in his spare time, releasing songs on SoundCloud under the name "Rat Boy", a name given to him by his school friends who claimed he looked like a rat.[2] After college, Cardy was hired and subsequently fired from Wetherspoons, which provided inspiration for his first release on SoundCloud, The Mixtape.[3]

Career

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Rat Boy produced The Mixtape, a 5-track mix on which he performed vocals, keyboard and bass, recorded in his own home.[citation needed] He sent The Mixtape to various record companies and in response Drew McConnell (bassist for Babyshambles) arranged for Rat Boy to have a meeting with him; Cardy and his band were subsequently signed to Parlophone in early 2015. In addition to this, The Mixtape was featured in NME magazine and played by radio stations including BBC Radio 1, Radio X (formerly XFM) and BBC Radio 6.[4]

Rat Boy was added to the BBC Sound of 2016 Longlist, an annual poll in which over 100 music specialists select artists they believe will be successful within the next 12 months.[5] In December 2015, MTV released its Brand New for 2016, an annually released article and webseries containing artists to watch out for during the upcoming year. Rat Boy was shortlisted along with 10 other artists including Bonkaz, Jack Garratt and Rationale.[6] He was also nominated for Best New Artist 2016 by NME magazine, which he subsequently won, along with performing his single "Move" at the awards ceremony.[7]

In April 2017, Cardy's song "Knock Knock Knock" was sampled on Kendrick Lamar's song "Lust", taken from the latter's fourth studio album, Damn.[8] When he found out about the sample, he tweeted his appreciation for it.[8]

On 11 August 2017, Rat Boy released his long-awaited debut album Scum[9] to commercial success.[10] The album was initially released with 13 tracks, however a deluxe 25-track version was also released. The deluxe version included more than 15 minutes of skits, samples and interludes, as well as an extra song "Sad Sad" featuring fellow indie musician Mallory Merk. The album reached No. 15 on the UK Albums Chart.

In December 2017, Cardy supported Liam Gallagher on his UK solo tour.[11]

On 25 January 2019, Rat Boy released the studio album Internationally Unknown which was recorded in 2018.[12]

Rat Boy featured on McFly's 2020 album Young Dumb Thrills on the song of the same title.[13]

Rat Boy provided songs for the radio in the 2020 game Cyberpunk 2077 using the name IBDY. One song, "Who's Ready for Tomorrow", featured heavily in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the anime based in the same universe.[14]

Musical style

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Rat Boy's music is an amalgamation of several styles, most notably hip hop and indie rock. He has cited English bands the Clash and the Streets as his main musical influences and has been compared to artists such as Jamie T and the Beastie Boys. He is also a fan of Kendrick Lamar and Kasabian.[15] Cardy has a DIY approach to his art and music, generally recording and producing his own tracks at home and creating all his own album art. Many of Cardy's songs consist of narratives and stories within the lyrics, as well as samples recorded of sounds and conversations from his daily life.[16]

Discography

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Studio albums

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EPs and mixtapes

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  • The Mixtape (2014)[17]
  • Neighbourhood Watch (2015)
  • Get Over It (2016)
  • Civil Disorder (2018)
  • Government Vacation (2020)

Singles

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List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK Vinyl[18]
"Sign On" 2015 1 Scum
"Fake ID" 4
"Move"[19] 2016 5
"Get Over It" —
"Cash in Hand" — Get Over It EP
"Lovers Law"[20] — Non-album single
"Revolution"[21] 2017 — Scum
"Laidback"[22] —
"Be My Anime"[23] 2018 — Civil Disorder
"Asthma"[24] 2019 — Non-album single
"Truth of the Youth"[25] — Government Vacation
"Money on Dust" 2020 — Non-album singles
"Brave New World" —
"Curtain Calling" 2021 —
"Ram Raid" 2022 —
"Suburbia Calling" 2024 —
"One In A Million" 2024 —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Music videos

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  • "Sign On" (2015)
  • "Fake ID" (2015)
  • "Wasteman" (2015)
  • "Move" (2016)
  • "Get Over It" (2016)
  • "Revolution" (2017)
  • "I H8 U" (2017)
  • "Laidback" (2017)
  • "Knock Knock Pt II" (2018)
  • "Internationally Unknown" (2018)
  • "Chip on My Shoulder" (2018)
  • "Don't Hesitate" (2019)
  • "Truth of the Youth" (2019)
  • "Rewind" (2020)
  • "Victim of a System" (2020)
  • "Brave New World" (2020)
  • "Suburbia Calling" (2024)
  • "One In A Million" (2024)
  • "Badman" (2024)

Tours

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  • The Dumb & Confused Tour (2018)

Awards and nominations

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Awards and nominations for Rat Boy
Year Award Category Recipients and nominees Result
2016 BBC Sound of 2016 Best New Act Rat Boy Nominated
MTV Brand New Best New Act Nominated
NME Awards[26] Best New Artist Won
2017 NME Awards[27] Best Video Rat Boy Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Rat Boy: Internationally Unknown". Pitchfork.
  2. ^ a b "Self-proclaimed "loud and annoying" singer-songwriter RatBoy is bringing back nineties music". Independent.co.uk. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  3. ^ "The Mixtape". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Bestival 2016 : Home". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  5. ^ "BBC Sound of 2016 longlist revealed: Jack Garratt, Rat Boy and more". Nme.com. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Rat Boy". Mtv.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  7. ^ "NME Awards Voting Closed". Nme.com. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Rat Boy responds to Kendrick Lamar sampling him on 'LUST'". Independent.co.uk. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  9. ^ "SCUM (Deluxe)". Open.spotify.com. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  10. ^ Davies, Hannah J. (10 August 2017). "Rat Boy: Scum review – bouncy state-of-the-nation ska-pop". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Support acts announced for Liam Gallagher's UK arena tour". Nme.com. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  12. ^ "RAT BOY - INTERNATIONALLY UNKNOWN". Epitaph.com. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  13. ^ "McFly - Young Dumb Thrills (Feat. RAT BOY) (Official Audio)". YouTube.
  14. ^ Anderson, Maya (11 December 2020). "Here Is Every Song In The Soundtrack For Cyberpunk 2077, Including A$AP Rocky, HEALTH, Metz And More". mxdwn Music. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  15. ^ "NME Awards 2016: Rat Boy Soundcheck". YouTube. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  16. ^ "Rat Boy Interview: British Indie's Cheekiest New Upstart Is Busy Making A Riot Of Life's Tribulations". Nme.com. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  17. ^ Lester, Paul (21 November 2014). "New band of the week: Rat Boy (No 32)". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  18. ^ "Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40 - Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  19. ^ "MOVE - Single by RAT BOY". iTunes. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  20. ^ "LOVERS LAW - Single by RAT BOY". iTunes. November 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Revolution - Single by RAT BOY". iTunes. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Listen to Rat Boy's new song 'Laidback' featuring Graham Coxon". Nme.com. 21 June 2017.
  23. ^ "Rat Boy has released a new EP ahead of his upcoming UK tour - Dork". Readdork.com. 26 January 2018.
  24. ^ "Asthma - Single by RAT BOY". iTunes. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  25. ^ "TRUTH OF THE YOUTH - Single by RAT BOY". iTunes. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  26. ^ "NME Awards 2016 with Austin, Texas full winners list". Nme.com. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  27. ^ "VO5 NME Awards 2017 - full winners' list". Nme.com. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
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