Jordan Cardy (born 21 February 1996), known by his stage name Rat Boy, is an English musician from Chelmsford, Essex.

Early life

Cardy was born in Chelmsford, England on 21 February 1996. He studied at

Chelmer Valley High School Chelmer Valley High School (CVHS) is an academy based on a large site on the outskirts of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has specialisms in engineering, and is assessed as one of the best performing comprehensive schools in Essex; it was given ...

in Chelmsford and went on to study Art at

Colchester Institute Colchester Institute is a large provider of further and higher education based in the city of Colchester. Colchester Institute provides full-time and part-time courses for a wide variety of learners including 16 to 19 year olds, apprentices, adu ...

. Despite being dyslexic, he began writing songs in his spare time, releasing songs on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

under the name "Rat Boy", a name given to him by his school friends who claimed he looked like a rat. After college Cardy was hired and subsequently fired from

Wetherspoons J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It o ...

, which provided inspiration for his first release on

, ''The Mixtape''.

Career

Rat Boy produced "The Mixtape", a 5 track mix on which he performed vocals, keyboard and bass, recorded in his own home. He sent "The Mixtape" to various record companies and in response Drew McConnell (bassist for

Babyshambles Babyshambles were an English rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) during a hiatus from the Libertines. As of 2013 the band includes Mick Whitnall (lead guitar), Drew McConnell (bas ...

) arranged for Rat Boy to have a meeting with him, Cardy and his band were subsequently signed to

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

records 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. 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. 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. He was also nominated for the Best New Artist 2016 by NME magazine, which he subsequently won, along with performing his single "Move" at the awards ceremony. In April 2017, Cardy's song "Knock Knock" was sampled on

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

's song "

Lust Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It c ...

", taken from his fourth studio album, '' Damn''. When he found out about the sample, he tweeted his appreciation for it. On 11 August 2017 Rat Boy released his long-awaited debut album ''Scum'' to commercial success. 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 Mallory Merk is an American singer, songwriter, and model. She began her career as a model, appearing in campaigns for Pat McGrath Labs and Fenty Beauty, among others. In 2016, she began releasing music and was signed to Warner Records in assoc ...

. The album reached 15 in the uk album chart. In December 2017, Cardy supported

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...

on his UK solo tour. On 25 January 2019 Rat Boy released the studio album ''Internationally Unknown'' which was recorded in 2018. Rat Boy featured on McFly's 2020 album, "Young Dumb Thrills" under a song of the same name. Rat Boy provided songs for the radio in the 2020 game ''

Cyberpunk 2077 ''Cyberpunk 2077'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. Set in Night City, an open world set in the ''Cyberpunk'' universe, players assume the role of a customisable mercenary kn ...

'' using the name IBDY. One song, ''Who's Ready for Tomorrow'', featured heavily in '' Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'', the

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

based in the same universe.

Musical style

Rat Boy's music is an amalgamation of several styles, most notably hip hop and indie rock. He has cited his main musical influences as English bands

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

and

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 ...

and has been compared to artists such as

Jamie T Jamie Alexander Treays (born 8 January 1986), better known by his stage name Jamie T, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, guitarist and record producer from Wimbledon, South London. Jamie T released his debut album, '' Panic Prevention ...

and

The Beastie Boys ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. He is also a fan of

and

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karl ...

. 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.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Scum'' (2017) - No.15, UK Chart * '' Internationally Unknown'' (2019)

EPs and mixtapes

* ''The Mixtape'' (2014) * ''Neighbourhood Watch'' (2015) * ''Get Over It'' (2016) * ''Civil Disorder'' (2018) * ''Government Vacation'' (2020)

Singles

Tours

* The Dumb & Confused Tour (2018)

Music videos

* "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)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rat Boy 1996 births Living people English hip hop musicians NME Awards winners Musicians from Essex