"Flex" is the third single from

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. D ...

's third studio album ''

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'', and ninth overall. The song reached number 23 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, while his previous single placed 1 higher at number 22, but topped the

UK Indie Singles Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent music, independent Single (music), singles and studio album, albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 19 ...

for 2 weeks, while his previous single topped it only for a week.

Music video

The video is set in a dream of Dizzee Rascal's after he falls asleep while watching TV, bored of the programs on it. The video parodies ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' as "Flex Factor" (though the video censors the "X" logo of ''The X Factor'', which was on the TV Dizzee was watching). It features

Reggie Yates Reginald (Reggie) Yates (born 31 May 1983) is a British writer and director with a career spanning three decades on screen as an actor, television presenter and radio DJ. Yates played Leo Jones in ''Doctor Who'' and has worked at the BBC in ra ...

as one of the three judges along with a woman and Dizzee Rascal. Rapper Mike Skinner of

The Streets The Streets are an English music project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner. The project has released six studio albums: ''Original Pirate Material'' (2002), '' A Grand Don't Come for Free'' (2004), '' The Hardest Way to ...

also features in the video as one of the performers, along with

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

footballer Gabriel Zakuani and magician

Dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos were the first electrical generators capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundati ...

. Instead of singing as on The X-Factor contestants, including Dizzee, dance on the Flex Factor - but all are considered bad by the judges apart from two girls dressed in black, who end up winning. Each girl kisses Dizzee on both cheeks at the end of the video, which then Dizzee stands up from his seat, pulls his pants up, and goes backstage with them, which Reggie later follows him. The video was directed by co-creator/director of

Fonejacker ''Fonejacker'' is a British comedy programme broadcast on E4 featuring a series of prank calls involving a number of different characters performed by British Iranian television actor Kayvan Novak. It first appeared in May 2006 and became a fu ...

and

Facejacker ''Facejacker'' is a Channel 4 comedy series which started on 16 April 2010. It follows the similar show '' Fonejacker''. Kayvan Novak adopts various disguises (with the aid of prosthetics), including several characters heard in ''Fonejacker''. ...

Ed Tracy Ed Tracy is a British television writer and television director who collaborated with the comedian Kayvan Novak to create all of the '' Fonejacker'' and ''Facejacker'' television shows. Initially working together on Tracy's short film ''Obsce ...

Track listings

;CD # "Flex" (Original) # "Flex" (Dave Spoon Reflex) # "Flex" (Dave Spoon Redub) # "Flex" (Micky Slim Remix) # "Flex" (Micky Slim Dub) # "Flex" (D 70 Remix) ;7" Vinyl # "Flex" (Original) # "Pussy'ole (Old Skool)" (Family of Five Remix)

Charts

References

2007 singles 2007 songs Dizzee Rascal songs XL Recordings singles Songs written by Dizzee Rascal {{2000s-single-stub