What is Daily Duppy?
Daily Duppy is GRM Daily’s leading freestyle outlet in which top tier British Rap talent display their prowess through original, unheard lyrics. Over 200 Daily Duppy freestyles have been released since 2011.
Daily Duppy is noted for introducing the trend of complementary animated graphic to highlight lyrics through each performance.
Daily Duppy is one of the longest running freestyle platforms and is noted for featuring a high tier of UK Rap, Drill, Grime and R&B artists. As such, being called upon to record a Daily Duppy is seen as a prestigious act.
Some of the most lauded lyricists in the UK have appeared on the platform, including Ghetts, J Hus, Wretch 32, Chip, Stormzy, Lowkey, Fredo, Potter Payper, Akala, Avelino, Giggs and Digga D.
Many artists have recorded more than one Daily Duppy. Among the most frequent contributors are Youngs Telfon, Big Narstie and Potter Payper.
Although the oldest published Daily Duppy came out in September 2011, the series existed prior on their original channel.
Daily Duppy Format
Daily Duppy Lyrics
Each Daily Duppy is a rap freestyle performance. Typically each artist records lyrics that are previously unheard or used for other music they have released. While dubbed a ‘freestyle’, this is not meant in the ‘improvised’ sense. Artists perform pre-written, pre-practised lyrics.
As time has passed and the series is viewed as one of the premier platforms of its kind, Daily Duppy performances are expected to have artists perform higher tired levels of lyricism, as opposed to lyrics that may be more suited a more traditional song structure.
Although freestyle rap is at the core of the series, some artists have created Daily Duppy recordings in song format with choruses (eg. Chip in 2020 and NSG in 2022).
Some artists use Daily Duppy freestyles as an opportunity to express themselves in a way they wouldn’t otherwise in the music their fans have come to know them for (eg. Lethal Bizzle on a slow Hip Hop instrumental in 2021, when he’s known for club-driven songs).
Daily Duppy Instrumentals
In the early years, rappers may perform Daily Duppy recordings using popular current instrumentals. In more recent years, due to changes in how some Daily Duppy recordings are monetised, they are now performed over original instrumental tracks.
Most of the freestyles use just one instrumental, while some of them feature two. In the cases where multiple are used, artists tend to display different styles, such as double-time rapping (Drill or Grime) compared to a slower Rap track.
Daily Duppy Aesthetics
Early Daily Duppy performances were performed outdoors, on press runs and at random locations. This has changed significantly in the time since.
Starting with the 2012 series, all Daily Duppy freestyle videos have been recorded in studios. Starting from the 2018 series with Aitch’s first performance, Daily Duppy videos have been known for the signature black/yellow studio aesthetic. This visual backdrop has been adapted for special freestyles, such as Chip’s 30th birthday version (black/white) and the return of Skrapz in 2020 (black).
Daily Duppy Graphics
A defining feature of Daily Duppy videos are the complementary animated graphics. Each video, starting from the 2012 series uses embellished post-production elements to highlight key parts of the videos.
The graphics are used to emphasise significant lines and offer visual cues to allow watchers to understand lyrics where double-entendres and uncommon slang is used.
Novelty Daily Duppy Performances
Despite focusing primarily on high tier musicians through the series, a number of novelty performances have taken place over the years.
In 2011, American R&B artist Bobby V released an improvised freestyle to a 140bpm instrumental.
In 2018, off the back of his successful singles, Michael Dapaah recorded a Daily Duppy under his Big Shaq character.
In 2020, Munya Chawawa made a Daily Duppy as Unknown P.
In 2021, Idris Elba recorded a Daily Duppy to promote his role as presenter on that year’s Rated Awards (which ultimately he didn’t attend and was replaced with Michael Dapaah.
Complete List of GRM Daily Duppy Freestyles
All of the publicly available GRM Daily Daily Duppy freestyle videos are listed below. Note that a handful of videos have been deleted or removed from public access since release.
2011
- Scrufizzer
- Sneakbo
- Jaja Soze
- StayFresh (MoVeZ, Macca, SafOne, J1, Don Menna, Casper, PREssure – recorded by Despa)
- Bobby V
2012
- DVS
- Squeeks
- Frisco
- Blade Brown
- Amplify Dot
- Scorcher and Terminator
- G FrSH
- Youngs Teflon
- John Wayne
- Ratlin
- Big Narstie
- Mic Righteous
- Bigz
- Little Dee
2013
- Pound Sterling
- Yung Meth
- Morrison (Billed as the start of Season 2)
- Maxsta
- Youngs Teflon (second appearance)
- Potter Payper
- Mercston
- Jaja Soze and Mr Sozah
- Margs
- Cashtastic
- Krept & Konan
- Dru Blu
- Pepstar
- Wretch 32 (one and only Season 3 freestyle)
2015
- Potter Payper (billed as start of Season 4; second appearance)
- Skrapz
- Maxsta (second appearance)
- Corleone
- Snap Capone
- Stormzy (two part)
- Scrufizzer and Maxsta (Maxsta’s third appearance)
- Young Spray
- MoStack
- Avelino
- Desperado
- Stana
- Giggs
- J Hus
- Mobb Ryder
- Rapman
- Cashtastic (second appearance)
- Youngs Teflon (third appearance)
- Young Adz
- Bugzy Malone
- Stardom
- Dru Blu (second appearance)
2016
- Ghetts
- Big Tobz
- Avelino (second appearance)
- Slix
- Tinchy Stryder
- Ralin (two part; second and third appearance)
- Swiss
- Tion Wayne
- Ard Adz and Sho Shallow
- Aystar
- Showkey
- Blittz
- Fat Tony
- Cadet
- Skinz
- Young Tribez
- Guvna B
- AJ Tracey
- Izzie Gibbs
- Wretch 32 (second appearance; celebrating his 32nd birthday; billed as the final Daily Duppy)
2018
- Aitch
- J Styles
- K Trap
- Geko
- CS
- Big Shaq
2019
- Abra Cadabra
- JAY1
- Devlin
- MoStack (second appearance)
- RA
- Mowgs
- Berna
- Dibo
- J Hus
- Cadet
- Remtrex
- Chip
- Blade Brown
- RV
- Snap Capone (second appearance)
- Mitch
- Stardom
- Corleone (second appearance)
- Big Tobz (second appearance)
- Dimzy and SJ
- Dubz
- Ambush
- Frosty
- Tiny Boost
- Cashh (third appearance after two as Cashtastic)
- Kay-O
- Pak-Man and Shaker
- Avelino (third appearance)
- Ay Em
- Wretch 32
- DigDat
- Skengdo & AM
2020
- Big Narstie (second appearance)
- Scorcher (second appearance)
- Fekky
- Mercston
- Lotto Boyzz
- Kaos
- Akala
- M24
- Unknown T
- Shaybo
- Guvna B (second appearance)
- Potter Payper (third appearance)
- Tunde
- Fredo
- V9
- Caps
- Skrapz (second appearance)
- K Trap (second appearance)
- Knucks
- Deno
- Loski
- Ivorian Doll
- Clavish
- Dezzie
- Lowkey
- Louis Rei
- Ard Adz (second appearance)
- Rimzee
- Chip (second appearance; celebrating 30th birthday)
- Digga D
- Lethal Bizzle
- French the Kid
- Unknown P
2021
- Sai So
- Skore Beezy
- K Koke
- Jordan
- Double Lz, BandoKay and Izzpot (reuploaded due to copyright issue with instrumental)
- Kyze
- Giggs (second appearance)
- D Double E
- Mowgs (second appearance)
- Youngs Teflon (fourth appearance)
- Benny Banks
- Headie One
- Young Adz (second appearance)
- Squeeks
- ArrDee
- Hardy Caprio
- Morrison (second appearance)
- Dappy
- Not3s
- Kwengface
- Idris Elba
- ENNY
- Abra Cadabra (second appearance)
- Backroad Gee
- K Koke (second appearance)
- Poundz
- Suspect
- Big Zuu
- M1llionz
- Country Dons
- Central Cee
- Horrid1 and Sax’O
2022
- Ambush (second appearance)
- Yungen
- RA (second appearance)
- Ghetts (second appearance)
- Blade Brown and K Trap (Blade’s second appearance; K Trap’s third)
- Mercston (second appearance)
- Potter Payper (fourth appearance)
- Scorcher (third appearance)
- LD
- Aitch (second appearance)
- Kojey Radical
- Bugzy Malone (second appearance)
- Nafe Smallz
- M Huncho
- Big Narstie (fourth appearance)
- BM, Sava and Mini
- NSG
- Wewantwraiths
- M24
- Double Lz (second appearance)
- P Money
- WSTRN
- Novelist
- Hardy Caprio (second appearance)
- Youngs Telfon (fifth appearance)
- Jordan McCann
- Loski (second appearance)
- Nemzzz
- Meekz
- Kwengface (second appearance)
- Dizzee Rascal
- Nito NB
- Stefflon Don
2023
- Ms Banks
- Avelino (fourth appearance)
- Blanco
- Aystar
- Chinx (OS)
- RM
- Mist
Notable Daily Duppy Omissions
To date, the following UK Rap acts have yet to perform a Daily Duppy (despite appearing on other such platforms):
- Kano
- Skepta
- Wiley
- Nines
- Dave
Additional Daily Duppy Appearances
In addition to the standard series, the music video for Ghetts – Crud, which features Giggs, was recorded using the post-2018 Daily Duppy aesthetics.
GRM Daily Duppy FAQs
What does Daily Duppy mean?
Duppy is a Jamaican patois word meaning ‘ghost’. Duppy has been used as a verb meaning ‘kill’ for decades in Dancehall music, i.e. killing something and turning it into a ghost. This phrasing has been carried over to MC-based UK music since the 1990s, and was particularly prominent in Grime in the 2000s.
The Daily Duppy name suggests the person performing the freestyle has lyrics so sharp they can kill the microphone or an adversary MC.
Who has the most viewed Daily Duppy?
Fredo has the most viewed GRM Daily Duppy. This is followed by Digga D. J Has has the third most viewed freestyle. followed by French the Kid and then Central Cee.
Who has the best Daily Duppy?
In 2021, JD created a Champions League of Everything that posed this question to a panel of Lippy, Tazer Black, Margs and Mimi the Music Blogger. They concluded that Ghetts’ 2016 Daily Duppy was the best, followed by Fredo in 2020, J Hus in 2019 and Digga D in 2020. However, this is highly subjective and was based on a choice of 10.
Are GRM Daily Duppy freestyles recorded in one take?
Daily Duppy audio is recorded separately to the video and most are likely recorded in multiple takes. The visual version are recorded in multiple takes.
What podcasters have done a Daily Duppy?
Margs from No Behaviour, Pound Sterling from Winners Talking Podcast and Young Spray from RTM Podcast have all recorded Daily Duppy freestyles over the years. These were all recorded before they began their podcasting and content creation endeavours and were primarily known for their music.
