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21 Seconds

"21 Seconds" is a song by UK garage group So Solid Crew. Released as the second single from their 2001 debut album They Don't Know, it was the first of five consecutive top-20 hit singles for the group.

"21 Seconds"
Single by So Solid Crew
from the album They Don't Know
Released6 August 2001 (2001-08-06)
Genre2-step garage
Length
  • 5:03 (album version)
  • 3:54 (radio edit)
LabelRelentless
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Synth
So Solid Crew singles chronology
"Oh No (Sentimental Things)"
(2000) 		"21 Seconds"
(2001) 		"They Don't Know"
(2001)
Music video
"21 Seconds" on YouTube

Composition and production

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The song uses fairly stripped back production, utilising a 2-step rhythm which was common in UK garage at the time. Lisa Maffia's young daughter, Chelsea, can be heard at the beginning of the track, saying "Ha, ha, ha, whatcha laughin at?"[2]

The song title alludes to the approximate 21 seconds that each of the band members is given to perform their rap. 21 seconds is arrived at as the song's tempo is approximately 140BPM, has a key of G minor, and each rapper has 12 bars of 4 beats (48 beats at 140BPM, when worked out to the nearest integer, rounds to 21 seconds).[2] Megaman said the crew created the track after their label told them to make a track lasting three and a half minutes. He said "so we worked out that with at least 10 or 11 members, that's eight bars each – 21 seconds. It was a simple calculation."[3] Their label manager Shabs Jobanputra said "they literally took a calculator and divided the time by the number of MCs."[4]

Music video

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The music video for "21 Seconds" was directed by Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini and was released on 2001. It features members from So Solid Crew performing during the storm in front of fences full of people dancing. It heavily uses special effects such as the storm, clouds, helicopters, lightning, tornado, etc.

The music video received the award for British Video of the Year at the 2002 Brit Awards.[5]

Critical reception

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In a 2002 review, Pete Paphides in The Guardian said the track was "a brilliant idea" but that "not a single member of the collective uses their time to say anything remotely insightful."[6] In September 2019, NME included the song in their "25 essential UK garage anthems" list.[7] In a 2020 retrospective review of the single, The Quietus said the track "managed to capture the excitement of clubs and pirate radio, with MCs frantically passing the mic as they try to outdo each other in lyrical prowess, creative aggression bubbling beneath the surface."[8] The same year, The Guardian placed the song at number 48 on their list of "The 100 Greatest UK No 1 Singles".[9]

Commercial performance

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"21 Seconds" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in August 2001, selling 118,135 copies in its opening week[10] and becoming 2001's 19th best-selling single. Its total sales reached 423,000. The single also peaked at number 24 in Ireland.

Track listings

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United Kingdom 6 August 2001
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Relentless [25][26]
Australia 22 October 2001 CD [27]

Other versions

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Romeo reworked "21 Seconds" for car insurance firm Confused.com in 2013.[28] The same year, Preditah reworked the track.[29] On 6 September 2019, So Solid Crew went to the Red Bull Music Studios, London, and remixed "21 Seconds" with Toddla T.[30] They were joined by D Double E, Ms Banks and DJ Q as they added new verses.

References

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  1. ^ a b "So Solid Crew feat. Megaman, Asher-D, Mac, Kaish, G-Man, Lisa Maffia, Face, Scat-D, Harvey, Romeo – 21 Seconds" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  2. ^ a b Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (17 October 2017). "So Solid Crew: how we made 21 Seconds". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Does Rock 'N' Roll Kill Braincells?! – Megaman, So Solid Crew". Nme.com. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  4. ^ "What Made the Songs of So Solid Crew So Special?". Daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  5. ^ Jackson, Jamie (24 April 2005). "Ready to blow". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  6. ^ Paphides, Peter (5 October 2002). "Crew's Control". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  7. ^ "The best UK garage tracks of all time". NME. 16 September 2019.
  8. ^ "The Quietus | Features | Low Culture | Low Culture 5: So Solid Crew's They Don't Know". The Quietus. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  9. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Petridis, Alexis; Snapes, Laura (5 June 2020). "The 100 Greatest UK No 1s: 100–1". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  10. ^ "All the Number 1s". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 6 May 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  11. ^ So Solid Crew (2001). 21 Seconds (UK CD single liner notes). Relentless Records. RELENT16CD.
  12. ^ So Solid Crew (2001). 21 Seconds (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Relentless Records. RELENT16T.
  13. ^ So Solid Crew (2001). 21 Seconds (UK cassette single sleeve). Relentless Records. RELENT16MC.
  14. ^ So Solid Crew (2001). 21 Seconds (European CD1 liner notes). Relentless Records. ISM 672580 1.
  15. ^ So Solid Crew (2001). 21 Seconds (European CD2 liner notes). Relentless Records. ISM 672580 2.
  16. ^ "Issue 609" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 35. 25 August 2001. p. 10. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  18. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – 21 Seconds". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 23 August 2001". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 2 June 2019. [permanent dead link‍]
  20. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  21. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  22. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  23. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  24. ^ "British single certifications – So Solid Crew – 21 Seconds". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  25. ^ Hubner, Miriam (25 August 2001). "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 35. p. 13. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  26. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting August 6, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 4 August 2001. p. 23. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  27. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 22nd October 2001" (PDF). ARIA. 22 October 2001. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  28. ^ "So Solid Crew's Romeo re-records '21 Seconds' for car insurance advert; watch here". Factmag.com. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Hear Preditah's cover of So Solid Crew's '21 Seconds'". Factmag.com. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  30. ^ "So Solid Crew Remix 21 Seconds with D Double E, Ms Banks, Toddla T & DJ Q | Studios Live". YouTube. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
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