Fredo

Among the United Kingdom’s most prominent rappers, Fredo maintains a consistent presence in the Top Ten with both his albums and mixtapes. Marvin William Bailey, raised on West London’s Mozart Estate, participated in street activities as a member of the Harrow Road Boyz before converting those experiences into recorded verses under the name Fredo. His verses arrive in a direct, unforced manner that yields both mainstream radio staples and underground favorites, with his most notable achievement arriving through the 2018 chart-topping collaboration “Funky Friday” alongside Dave. Three years afterward the pair scored another substantial hit with “Money Talks,” while Fredo issued further successful projects including Money Can’t Buy Happiness (2021) and Unfinished Business (2023).

Few debut singles have matched the reach of “They Ain’t 100.” The 2016 track marked Bailey’s first release and his initial foray on the microphone, accumulating millions of streams throughout the U.K. and securing an early co-sign from Drake on OVO Sound Radio. That same year he issued the additional singles “TrapSpot” and “Pattern Gang,” then joined the remix of Kojo Funds and Abra Cadabra’s “Dun Talkin” with Yxng Bane, Frisco, and JME. Fredo’s forthright, nearly spoken delivery conveyed the lived realities of the Harrow Road Boyz, set against the heavy, swaggering production typical of mid-2010s trap.

Fredo soon laid groundwork for his debut mixtape. Early in 2017 he released the assertive “Get the Pot,” and a Fire in the Booth freestyle further established him among London’s fastest-rising prospects. The project Get Rich or Get Recalled, its title referencing 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’, appeared in March and combined the bravado of his prior work with candid reflections on street life. Tables Turn followed in 2018, shifting toward a more radio-friendly approach that incorporated Afroswing elements and a guest appearance from Hackney’s Not3s. A rapid succession of singles elevated Fredo to national recognition: Stay Flee Get Lizzy’s “Ay Caramba” supplied his first Top 40 placement, and the Dave collaboration “Funky Friday” secured the number-one position in October 2018. The minimal beat and confident exchanges between the two MCs produced a landmark U.K. rap recording that represented each artist’s first chart-topping entry.

In 2019 Fredo capitalized on this momentum with the debut album Third Avenue, which offered a fuller portrait of the MC and generated the Top 40 singles “All I Ever Wanted” (with Dave) and “BMT.” Another significant success arrived months later through the MIST collaboration “So High,” a buoyant club track that reached number seven on the U.K. charts. After delivering a standout Daily Duppy performance and the charting singles “Netflix & Chill” and “I’m the One,” he prepared the follow-up album Money Can’t Buy Happiness. Preceded by tracks such as “Scorpion,” “Back to Basics,” and the third Dave collaboration “Money Talks,” the January 2021 release introduced U.K. drill experimentation while retaining the weighty trap sound that defined his earlier work and entered the charts at number two.

Fredo maintained his output with additional singles including the Stay Flee Get Lizzy and Central Cee collaboration “Meant to Be,” along with material that appeared on Independence Day, his fourth consecutive Top Ten album. His sole 2022 release, the six-minute “I’m Back,” entered the Top 40. In 2023 he featured on Stormzy’s “Toxic Trait” and issued his own charting singles “Dave Flow” and “Everybody Knows.” Unfinished Business arrived in August and secured another Top Ten position.