Goldie Lookin' Chain

Goldie Lookin' Chain is a Welsh comedic rap group from Newport, United Kingdom, active from 2000 to the present. The group is known for humorous, controversial and often explicit songs that satirise hip hop, consumer culture, “chav” culture, and life in Newport and South Wales. Its lyrics often refer to local places and hang-outs, and much of the comedy comes from using hip-hop style and language in South Wales vernacular. The group also parodies gangsta rap by contrasting that style’s usual glamour with its deliberately unglamorous image.

Style and subject matter

The group’s songs draw heavily on Newport and the wider South Wales area, with references that are local in tone and setting. Their work often targets the media image of gangsta rap, while also mocking everyday life, consumerism and the stereotypes associated with “chav” culture. The combination of rap delivery, local dialect and explicit humour is central to their identity.

Career

Goldie Lookin' Chain records a series of albums and singles under the informal names “the Chain” and “the GLC”. Before signing a major label deal, the group records six albums between 2000 and 2004. It later signs to East/West, the label associated with The Darkness, and supports The Darkness on the later part of a UK tour.

The group’s first UK chart entry is “Half-Man Half-Machine” / “Self Suicide”, which reaches the UK Top 40. “Half Man Half Machine” is a surreal track about Eggsy believing he is a robot, dressing in foil and going shopping for cigarettes and crisps; it also mentions several 1980s 8-bit computer systems, including Binatone, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, ZX81 and BBC Micro.

In August 2004, the group reaches number 3 in the UK Singles Chart with “Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do”. The song, with the line “The gun is the tool, the mind is the weapon”, satirises American hip hop. Its B-side is “Soap Bar”.

The group’s first nationally released album is Greatest Hits, a title that plays on both its earlier lack of commercial success and its stoner image. The album combines new material with selections from six earlier unofficial albums, debuts at number 5 in the UK Albums Chart, and is later issued in the United States as Straight Outta Newport with cover art similar to N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton. The US version omits “Maggot” and “You Knows I Loves You”.

Further singles include “Your Mother's Got a Penis”, which first appears on The Manifesto and reaches number 14 in the UK, with a video set in a supermarket. The track uses a sample from Greg Phillinganes’ “Behind The Mask”, a song originally by Yellow Magic Orchestra and later covered by Eric Clapton. Another release, “You Knows I Loves You Baby”, is a parody of 1980s love songs and reaches number 22 in the UK. It appears on Greatest Hits and The Manifesto.

“Your Missus Is A Nutter” is the first single from Safe As Fuck, originally planned under the title Safety In Numbers as a tribute to Jurassic 5’s Power in Numbers. The single reaches number 14 in the UK. The group dedicates the song to Victoria Beckham, which leads to a summons from the Newport mayor’s office, which also objects to the album title.

Later activity

In 2010, Goldie Lookin' Chain plays at a student ball in Cambridge, where a stage invasion during the final song causes the stage to collapse without injuring anyone. Later that year, the group hosts a celebrity golf challenge in Newport featuring Howard Marks, Dirty Sanchez, Super Furry Animals, The Automatic and other Welsh figures.

Members

The group includes Adam Hussain and Rhys Hutchings.