The Northern Boys

Last updated

The Northern Boys
Origin Sutton Coldfield, England
Genres
Years active2022–present
LabelsSindhuworld
Members
  • Norman Pain
  • Patrick Karneigh Jr.
  • Kevin

The Northern Boys are an English hip hop group formed by Liverpool-born rappers Norman Pain and Patrick Karneigh Jr. in Sutton Coldfield in 2022. Pain and Karneigh are the group's only songwriters and performers, but they are considered a trio as they are always accompanied by a dancer known only as Kevin. [lower-alpha 1] They are known for creating the group in their 70s, Pain's gravelly voice, their distinctive lyrical style and northern accents, and performing dark and vulgar comedy hip hop songs about taboo topics.

Contents

Career

The Northern Boys were put together in 2022 by the London-based music collective Sindhuworld, [1] [2] which itself began as a corner shop whose Instagram page went viral for its musings on everyday life. [3] Karneigh and Pain reportedly met while working as teachers at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield, though both are originally from Liverpool, [4] [5] which inspired the group's name as Liverpool is in Northwest England whereas Sutton Coldfield is in the West Midlands. Prior to forming the Northern Boys, both had solo music careers and had released music via Sindhuworld, as well as making guest appearances on Pete & Bas tracks as part of the Snooker Team collective. [1]

On 15 September 2022, The Northern Boys released the music video for their debut single "Party Time" (titled onscreen as "Northern Boy") on YouTube. [6] The music video, filmed locally in Sutton Park, gained over 400,000 views on YouTube and 2 million on TikTok within a week. [1] The song's highly vulgar lyrics were rapped over the instrumental to Estelle's song "American Boy". [6] [2] Kevin had suggested that they choose a dance beat for the song rather than a more typical hip hop track so that he could dance to it. [1] Reception of the song was largely positive. Entertainment.ie described the song as "one of the darkest yet funniest songs we've heard in a long time" and praised the music video as a "work of art". [7] Vulture called "Party Time" a "certified banger" with "disarmingly frank, funny lyrics about sex, drugs, partying, and the crippling mental health issues stemming from repressed white English masculinity". [6]

The Northern Boys' next song "Nobody Likes Me" sampled "Acceptable in the 80s" by Calvin Harris and was released in October 2022. [8] Them magazine reported favorably on its TikTok popularity from LGBTQ+ users, who appreciated one of Pain's lyrics that described a positive sexual encounter with a trans man. [9] GRM Daily, which praised The Northern Boys as "some of rap's unlikeliest heroes", said that the song "slaps". [8] The song was later pulled from streaming services due to the unauthorised sampling of "Acceptable in the 80s", but the music video remains available on YouTube. A review from The White Pube highlighted the distinctly English themes of anger and embarrassment in the group's work: "I can't think of anything more deeply English to represent us [at Eurovision]. I want art that admits there's a badness growing over us plebs like the mould in the beige houses we rent from jobless kings and queens." [10]

On 23 March 2023, the group released "Give It to Me". The single made a more in-depth exploration of LGBTQ+ themes in its music video and was described by GRM Daily as "fun, cheeky, and will have you bopping along". [11] The music video for their song "Sexy Train" was filmed at Euston railway station and was released on YouTube on 6 July 2023. [12] This was followed four months later by "F the World", which saw the Northern Boys explore an "anarchistic and punk-influenced sound" and included footage of their live performances in the song's music video. [13] "F the World" received some attention in the rock music community, with Ultimate Guitar listing it at No. 13 on their "20 Best Songs of 2023" list and writing, "With a stream-of-consciousness lyrical style and a provocative attitude, the trio made waves online, exploring controversial topics in their songs and even taking on a punk edge on 'F the World'." [14]

The Northern Boys' first single of 2024, "Robot Man", was released on 11 January; the music video features the band dressed in poorly-made robot costumes while making double entendres about cybersex. [15] [16]

Artistry

The Northern Boys have described their writing process as "bang[ing] out ideas in drunken stupors" that results in a distinctive stream-of-consciousness lyrical style. [2] The White Pube has described the band's depiction of class, gender, and race as a key part of their appeal. [10] Kevin, [lower-alpha 1] the third member of the group, does not appear on vocals but is always featured in the band's music videos as a dancer. [1] [2]

Discography

Singles

Other appearances

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acceptable in the 80s</span> 2007 single by Calvin Harris

"Acceptable in the 80s" is a song by Scottish producer, songwriter and DJ Calvin Harris, taken from his debut studio album I Created Disco. It was released as his debut single on 12 March 2007. The single peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The song has also served as the opening theme of Irish professional wrestling podcast OSW Review since its 2011 inception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tik Tok (song)</span> 2009 single by Kesha

"Tik Tok" is the debut single by American singer Kesha, who co-wrote the song with its producers Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. It was released on August 7, 2009, as the lead single from her debut studio album, Animal (2010). The opening line of the song came from an experience where Kesha woke up surrounded by beautiful women, to which she imagined P. Diddy being in a similar scenario. The experience prompted the writing of the song which she later brought to her producer, Dr. Luke, who was then contacted by P. Diddy in hopes of a collaboration; he came to the studio the same day and recorded his lines, and the song was completed. The official remix features American rapper Pitbull.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TikTok</span> Video-focused social media platform

TikTok, whose mainland Chinese counterpart is Douyin, is a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from three seconds to 10 minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mia Khalifa (song)</span> 2018 single by iLoveFriday

"Mia Khalifa" (originally titled "Mia Khalifa (Diss)", also known as "Hit or Miss", and sometimes stylized as "MiA KHALiFA") is a song by American hip hop group iLoveFriday (stylized as iLOVEFRiDAY). The duo of Atlanta-based rappers Aqsa Malik (also known as Smoke Hijabi) and Xeno Carr self-released the song on February 12, 2018, which was later re-released by Records Co and Columbia Records on December 14, 2018. It was included on their second EP, Mood (2019). The song was produced by Carr. The song is a diss track targeting Mia Khalifa, a Lebanese-American Internet celebrity and former pornographic actress. The decision to write a song dissing Khalifa arose over a misunderstanding. A faked screenshot, intended as a joke, seemed to show Khalifa, who once appeared in a pornographic film wearing a hijab, criticizing Malik for smoking while wearing a hijab in a music video. iLoveFriday thought the screenshot was legitimate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashnikko</span> American rapper and singer (born 1996)

Ashton Nicole Casey, known professionally as Ashnikko, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Her 2019 single "Stupid" featuring Yung Baby Tate gained viral popularity on the video-sharing platform TikTok and was certified platinum in the United States and Canada. Ashnikko's debut mixtape, Demidevil, was released in January 2021, and spawned the singles "Daisy" and "Slumber Party". Her studio album, Weedkiller, came in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CarryMinati</span> Indian YouTuber and streamer (born 1999)

Ajey Nagar, better known as CarryMinati, is an Indian YouTuber, streamer and rapper from Faridabad, India. He is known for his roasting videos, comedic skits and reactions to various online topics on his channel CarryMinati. His other channel CarryisLive is dedicated to gaming and live streams. With over 40 million subscribers as of August 2023, he is the most-subscribed individual YouTuber in Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charli D'Amelio</span> American social media personality (born 2004)

Charli Grace D'Amelio is an American social media personality. She was a competitive dancer for over a decade before starting her social media career in 2019, when she began posting dance videos on the video-sharing platform TikTok. She quickly amassed a large following and subsequently became the most-followed creator on the platform in March 2020 until she was surpassed by Khaby Lame in June 2022. With over 151 million followers, she is the second-most-followed-person on TikTok, as of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake Up Call (KSI song)</span> 2020 song by KSI featuring Trippie Redd

"Wake Up Call" is a song by British YouTuber and rapper KSI from his debut studio album, Dissimulation (2020). The song features a guest appearance from American rapper and singer Trippie Redd. The song was produced by S-X and Mally Mall. It was released for digital download and streaming by RBC Records and BMG on 31 January 2020 as the second single from the album. A pop-rap track, its lyrics are about how KSI has proven his doubters wrong and how they are finally accepting his success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Addison Rae</span> American singer-songwriter and actress (born 2000)

Addison Rae Easterling is an American singer-songwriter, actress and dancer. Rae rose to fame on the video sharing app, TikTok. She amassed over 88 million followers, making her the fifth most-followed individual on the platform.

Tamia Monique Carter, known professionally as Flo Milli, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence after her 2018 single "Beef FloMix" and its 2019 follow up, "In the Party" reached virality on the media platform TikTok; the latter received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In late 2019, she signed a recording contract with Justin Goldman's '94 Sounds, an imprint of RCA Records.

Lilliane Catherine Diomi, known professionally as ppcocaine, is an American social media personality and rapper. She is perhaps best known for her song "3 Musketeers" that gained popularity on the video-sharing platform TikTok.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beat Box (SpotemGottem song)</span> 2020 single by SpotemGottem

"Beat Box" is the debut single by American rapper SpotemGottem. It was released on April 20, 2020, while the first remix, titled "Beat Box 2", featuring SpotemGottem linking up with American rapper Pooh Shiesty, was released on December 18, 2020, alongside a video, and as part of Spotem's debut mixtape, Final Destination. The first remix pushed the song to viral status on the video-sharing app TikTok, spawning the "#JunebugChallenge", and later became SpotemGottem's first chart entry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toosii</span> American rapper (born 2000)

Nau'Jour Lazier Grainger, better known by his stage name Toosii, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Raleigh, North Carolina. Beginning his career in 2017, he rose to mainstream prominence following the release of his 2023 single "Favorite Song", which first gained virality on the social media platform TikTok. The song peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, earned double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and preceded the release of his second studio album, Naujour (2023). The album peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200, although his debut album, Poetic Pain (2020), reached number 17 on the chart.

Pete & Bas are a British hip hop duo based in London, formed in 2017. They are notable for the songs "The Old Estate", "Dents in a Peugeot", and their debut single, "Shut Ya Mouth”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swerve (Jay1 song)</span> 2021 song by Jay1 featuring KSI

"Swerve" is a song by British rapper Jay1. The song features a guest appearance from British YouTuber and rapper KSI. It was released for digital download and streaming by RCA Records and Sony on 2 July 2021. An accompanying music video was released the day before the song's release. The song charted at number 69 in the United Kingdom. The song appears on the Platinum VIP edition of KSI's second studio album, All Over the Place (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PinkPantheress</span> British singer and record producer (born 2001)

Victoria Beverley Walker, known professionally as PinkPantheress, is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her songs, which are frequently short in length and include samples of music from the 1990s and 2000s, span a number of genres, including bedroom pop, drum and bass, alt-pop, and 2-step garage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeat</span> American rapper (born 2000)

Noah Olivier Smith, known professionally as Yeat, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his experimental sound, unique lingo, and unconventional fashion sense featuring a mix of designer brands and balaclavas.

Alex and Franky Venegas, known as Flyysoulja and Kodiyakredd respectively, and better known collectively as the Island Boys, are American social media personalities and a hip-hop duo active on the video sharing platform TikTok. The Island Boys are twin brothers who are based in Coral Springs, Florida. They went viral with their song "I'm an Island Boy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yailin La Más Viral</span> Dominican rapper and singer (born 2002)

Jorgina Guillermo Díaz, known professionally as Yailin La Más Viral, is a Dominican rapper and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coco & Clair Clair</span> American pop rap duo

Coco & Clair Clair are an American pop rap duo from suburban Atlanta, Georgia, founded by Taylor Nave and Claire Toothill in late 2013. Their debut album, Sexy, was released in November 2022.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Known mononymously in promotional material with no last name publicly given.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Klee, Miles (September 24, 2022). "The Northern Boys, Rapping Retired U.K. Teachers, Break Down Their Filthy Viral Hit 'Party Time'". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Haidari, Niloufar (October 12, 2022). "Hanging Out With the Northern Boys, the UK's Finest Retiree Rap Act". Vice . Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  3. ↑ https://www.vice.com/en/article/43na3n/investigating-sindhuworld-the-internets-favourite-corner-shop
  4. ↑ https://genius.com/artists/Patrick-karneigh-junior
  5. ↑ https://genius.com/artists/Norman-pain
  6. 1 2 3 Alter, Rebecca (September 22, 2022). "It's Time for Northern Boy Autumn". Vulture . Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  7. ↑ Murphy, Lauren (September 27, 2022). "This NSFW rap music video by retired teachers might be the funniest thing you've ever seen". Entertainment.ie . Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Pete & Bas affiliates The Northern Boys drop off new banger "Nobody Likes Me"". GRM Daily . October 28, 2022. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  9. ↑ Factoria, James (November 10, 2022). "Transmascs on TikTok Are Loving This Song that Finally Objectifies Them". Them . Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "The Northern Boys". The White Pube . April 23, 2023. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  11. ↑ Yaregal, Bizu (March 23, 2023). "Watch the Northern Boys return with "Give It To Me"". GRM Daily . Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ "The Northern Boys Board the "Sexy Train" in Latest Visuals". GRM Daily . July 7, 2023. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  13. ↑ "The Northern Boys say "F The World" on latest release"". GRM Daily . November 6, 2023. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  14. ↑ Martins, Jorge (December 21, 2023). "UG Awards: 20 Best Songs of 2023". Ultimate Guitar . Archived from the original on December 21, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Watch The Northern Boys do the "Robot Man" in latest visuals". GRM Daily . January 12, 2024. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  16. ↑ "18 New Songs Out Today". BrooklynVegan . January 12, 2024. Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.