Skillibeng’s ‘Crocodile Teeth’ Certified Silver In The UK
Skillibeng‘s Crocodile Teeth has been certified Silver in the United Kingdom, three years after its release. It’s the 26-year-old’s first certification in the country.
According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the song was issued the Brit Certified Silver Award on Friday (September 15) after selling over 200,000 units in the UK, as measured by The Official Charts Company.
Released on September 21, 2020, the track’s plaintive piano beat — produced by Johnny Wonder and Andreas ‘Adde Instrumentals’ Nilsson — had everyone from Rihanna to Burna Boy wilding out to the Dancehall deejay’s sinister nod to the deadly predator.
Its shelf life was bolstered thanks to an official remix with rapper Nicki Minaj. That remix, which appeared on Minaj’s Beam Me Up Scotty Mixtape, peaked at No. 100 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart after its release on May 14, 2021.
The original track spent one week on the UK Singles chart at No. 74, following the release of the Minaj remix.
A second official remix, with rapper Bobby Shmurda, appeared on Skillibeng’s 12-track Crocodile Teeth LP album, released on October 15, 2021.
The music video accompanying the original track has amassed over 52 million views on YouTube. On Spotify, it stands as Skillibeng’s most streamed track, accumulating over 26 million plays.
According to Skillibeng, the song was a product of playful experimentation in the studio, stemming from his endeavor to make his music more accessible to non-Patois speakers.
“In Crocodile Teeth I was spitting my bars. In Crocodile Teeth, in the second verse, I was going crazy,” he told Atlanta-based DJ Kash in an interview.
“In a simple way too, I was using metaphoric lyrics shorter, catchier, stingier lyrics, on point, sharp, so the international market could really hear me like understand or try to understand what I am saying in Patois, because I am saying it in an easier way.”
Now signed to RCA Records, the St. Thomas native first made waves in 2019 with his breakout hit Brik Pan Brik.
His other notable tracks include Whap Whap with F.S., Not, Coke, Mr. Universe, Badman, and Bin Laden with Tommy Lee Sparta.
He has also racked up credits with US artists such as DJ Khaled, French Montana, Young M.A, Nardo Wick, Coi Leray, Wizkid, Mura Masa, and Busta Rhymes.
He won his first major music award in November last year when he copped the MOBO Award for Best Caribbean Music Act.
Tariq Troy Stewart of RCA Records A&R, in an interview with DancehallMag last November, lauded Skillibeng’s unique musical prowess, stating, “He’s like a unicorn. So, what he does and what he’s doing you don’t really see that. Even though we could consider him Caribbean/Dancehall, I still put him in this rap category with the artists because you don’t necessarily have to have a genre no more. It’s like based on what people like, and he fits in that—especially the Whap record,” he said at the time.
“That was a record where it doesn’t matter where you were at; that was a record that was being played. He’s like a unicorn, it’s like you can’t put him in a box. He could go any range he wants to go whether it’s Drill or Dancehall…whatever it is. Once you give him a beat and he’s catching a vibe from it, he’s gonna go do his thing. He just has something about him: his aura, his presence…just something about him,” he continued.