Countdown to Rye Lane - No. 2: 'Vossi Bop' by Stormzy

As well a drawing on pop, hip-hop, electro and more, the Rye Lane soundtrack makes inspired use of grime. It’s a fitting choice, given the movie’s setting in the south London neighbourhood of Peckham, and the fact that grime is inextricably bound up with London street culture.

Among the movie’s most spine-tingling needle-drops is ‘Vossi Bop’ by the iconic Stormzy, who had first broken through with the million selling 'Shut Up’ in 2015. But it was ‘Vossi Bop’ that established the man from Croydon as a bona-foe superstar. A huge international hit, it topped the UK charts in 2019, reached the Irish Top 5 and went three times platinum in the UK and Australia.

The lead single from Stormzy’s masterwork Heavy Is The Head, it’s one of the key number one tracks of the last decade, driven by an irresistible groove and the rapper’s typically ingenious wordplay, which paints a vivid picture of urban life.

Filmed on the streets of the English capital, the inspired video for the tune mines similar territory to the film Rye Lane, brimming as it is with style, wit and attitude. It’s another standout tune on the Rye Lane soundtrack – a superb collection of music to accompany one of the year’s hottest comedies.

• Rye Lane is in cinemas from March 17. Book tickets here.