Dave (rapper) facts for kids

David Orobosa Michael Omoregie (born June 5, 1998), known as Dave or Santan Dave, is a British rapper and actor. He is famous for his thoughtful lyrics and clever wordplay, often talking about important social topics.

Dave first gained attention with his EP (Extended Play) Six Paths in 2016. This followed popular songs like "Thiago Silva" with AJ Tracey. That same year, famous Canadian rapper Drake shared a remix of Dave's song "Wanna Know," which helped Dave become even more known. In 2017, Dave released his second EP, Game Over. His song "Question Time" won an Ivor Novello Award in 2018 for being a great contemporary song. Later that year, his song "Funky Friday" with Fredo became his first number-one hit in the UK.

Dave's first album, Psychodrama (2019), was highly praised and went straight to number one in the UK. It also won the Mercury Prize and Album of the Year at the Brit Awards. Dave also started acting in the Netflix show Top Boy in 2019. His second album, We're All Alone in This Together (2021), also reached number one in the UK. In 2022, his song "Starlight" became his second number-one hit as a solo artist. His 2023 song "Sprinter" with Central Cee was his third number-one song and part of their joint EP, Split Decision.

Quick facts for kids Dave
Dave performing in 2019
Background information
Birth name	David Orobosa Michael Omoregie
Also known as	Santan Dave Santan
Born	(1998-06-05) 5 June 1998 (age 27) Brixton, London, England
Genres	Hip hop spoken word conscious hip hop UK drill
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter record producer actor
Years active	2015–present
Labels	Neighbourhood UMG
Associated acts	Drake AJ Tracey Fredo J Hus Headie One Burna Boy MoStack Stormzy

Early Life and Personal Journey

David Orobosa Omoregie was born on June 5, 1998, in Brixton, South London. His father is a pastor and his mother is a nurse. He has two older brothers, Benjamin and Christopher.

When Dave was very young, his father had to leave the country due to visa issues. His mother and brothers faced a difficult time and were without a home for a while. They were reunited with Dave a few months later.

Dave moved to Streatham, South London, at age seven. He started writing song lyrics at 11 after watching his older brother rap. He taught himself to play the piano at 14 after getting an electric keyboard for Christmas. Dave's older brothers faced challenges that led to them being in prison during his teenage years. These experiences deeply influenced Dave and his music.

Dave went to St Mark's Academy and Richmond upon Thames College. He studied law, philosophy, and ethics. He also learned about sound design and politics. He was accepted to De Montfort University to study law but chose to focus on his music career instead.

Even though he grew up in London, Dave is a big fan of the Manchester United football team.

Music Career Highlights

2017–2018: Game Over and Hit Songs

In 2017, Dave released several popular songs. "Samantha" with J Hus was a big hit. He also released "Revenge," "Tequila," and "100M's." The song "100M's" was even used in a Nike advertisement. Dave performed on the BBC show Later... with Jools Holland, playing his song "Picture Me" on the piano.

Dave went on tour in 2017, selling out shows across the UK. He also performed at big festivals like Wireless and Reading and Leeds. He toured North America for the first time with AJ Tracey.

On October 9, 2017, Dave announced his second EP, Game Over. Before the EP, he released "Question Time." In this song, Dave asked important questions directly to the UK Prime Minister at the time, Theresa May, and other political leaders. Game Over was released on November 3, 2017. It reached number 13 on the UK Albums Chart. Dave then toured the UK and Australia.

Dave won his first MOBO Award for Best Newcomer Act in 2017. He was also nominated for a Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act in 2018. At 19, Dave became the youngest person to win an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song for "Question Time."

In February 2018, Dave released "Hangman." After a break, he released "Funky Friday" with rapper Fredo on October 4, 2018. This song went straight to number one on the UK Singles Chart. It was the first song by a British rapper to reach number one as the main artist since 2015. This was Dave's first number-one single and his first song in the Top 10.

2019–2020: Psychodrama Success

In January 2019, Dave worked with UK rapper Headie One on the song "18Hunna," which reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. He also worked with Fredo again on Fredo's song "All I Ever Wanted."

Dave announced his first album, Psychodrama, on February 21, 2019. With the announcement, he released the song "Black." This song talks about what it means to be Black, celebrating Black identity and discussing challenges. The music video featured many famous Black British people, including Damson Idris, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, Dina Asher-Smith, Ozwald Boateng, Raheem Sterling, Stormzy, Micheal Ward, and Tiffany Calver.

His album Psychodrama was released on March 8, 2019. It debuted at number one in the UK. It had the most first-week streams for a British rap album ever at that time. Songs like "Disaster," "Streatham," and "Location" also entered the UK Singles Chart. Psychodrama is considered one of the highest-rated hip-hop albums.

"Disaster," featuring J Hus, and "Location," featuring Burna Boy, were officially released as singles in July 2019. "Location" became one of Dave's biggest songs, selling over 1.8 million copies.

After the album's release, Dave went on his first UK headline tour since 2017. He also toured Australia, Europe, and North America.

On June 30, 2019, Dave performed at Glastonbury Festival for the first time. During his performance, he invited a fan on stage to sing "Thiago Silva" with him. The video went viral, and the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart. Dave also headlined the BBC Radio 1 Stage at Reading and Leeds Festival.

Dave made his acting debut in the Netflix show Top Boy, playing the character Modie. He released two songs, "Professor X" and "God's Eye," for the show's soundtrack.

On September 19, 2019, Dave won the Mercury Prize for Psychodrama. He also won British Album of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards. This made him only the second artist to win both awards for the same album. Dave's performance of "Black" at the Brit Awards caused discussion. He spoke about important social issues, including the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the Windrush generation. The song won Dave another Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song in 2020. He also won a GQ Men Of The Year Award for Breakthrough Music Act.

In August 2020, Dave worked with Sir David Attenborough for a special episode of Planet Earth called Planet Earth: A Celebration. Dave played the piano alongside composer Hans Zimmer. In October 2020, Dave helped produce Fraser T. Smith's album, 12 Questions.

2021–2022: We're All Alone in This Together

In January 2021, Dave worked with Fredo again. Dave was featured on and produced Fredo's song "Money Talks," which reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Dave also produced Fredo's album Money Can't Buy Happiness.

In April 2021, Dave released two songs, "Titanium" and "Mercury" featuring Kamal. These were extra songs from his second album. Two months later, Dave announced his second album, We're All Alone in This Together. On July 9, the first song from the album, "Clash" featuring Stormzy, was released and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. The music video showed Dave and Stormzy at the Aston Martin car factory.

On July 23, 2021, Dave released We're All Alone in This Together. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, making it Dave's second number-one album in a row. It also topped the charts in Scotland and Ireland. The album sold 74,000 copies in its first week, setting a new record for weekly album streams for a UK rap artist. On the UK Singles Chart, "Clash," "Verdansk," and "In the Fire" all reached the top 10. This album had the biggest opening week for an album in the UK since November 2019. The album returned to number one three weeks after its release. After the album, Dave headlined the Parklife festival in September.

In August 2021, Dave won his third Ivor Novello Award with Fraser T Smith for the song "Children of the Internet." Dave continued to produce music for other artists, including Central Cee's song "End of the Beginning" in February 2022.

Dave was nominated for four awards at the 2022 Brit Awards, including best album and best artist. He won the award for Best British Hip Hop/Rap/Grime Act. He performed his song "In the Fire" at the ceremony, bringing other rappers on stage and playing a guitar solo.

He went on his first sold-out UK arena tour in early 2022, including two shows at The O2 Arena. Dave then toured Europe and North America. In March 2022, he released "Starlight." It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Dave's second chart-topping single. The song broke records, becoming the first UK number one of the 2020s written and performed by one person. It also became the longest-running number one solo UK Rap single in Official Charts history.

Dave won Songwriter of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards in May 2022, his fourth Ivor Novello win in five years.

Dave performed at several festivals in summer 2022, including headlining Wireless Festival, Longitude Festival, Rolling Loud Toronto, and becoming the youngest solo headliner of Reading and Leeds Festival.

2023–Present: Split Decision and New Music

In June 2023, Dave released the song "Sprinter" with Central Cee. The song had a record-breaking number of streams for a rap single in UK history. It reached number one on the UK singles charts, making it Dave’s third number-one single and Central Cee’s first. "Sprinter" was followed by their joint EP, Split Decision, a few days later. In August 2023, Dave worked with French rapper Tiakola to release "Meridian" and "Special." "Meridian" topped the French Singles Chart, a first for both artists. In December, Dave appeared on "Stop Giving Me Advice" with American rapper Jack Harlow.

In January 2025, Dave was featured on "CRG," a song from Central Cee's album Can't Rush Greatness. This track reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Dave's thirteenth top ten single. In May 2025, Dave celebrated the 10th anniversary of his "Blackbox Cypher" freestyle on Instagram. He announced that he was "just finishing this [his third] album," hinting at a 2025 release.

Artistic Style

Musical Influences

Dave has credited Drake (left) and Lana Del Rey (right) as being his biggest musical influences

Dave has said that artists like Drake, Hans Zimmer, Kendrick Lamar, and Lana Del Rey have influenced his rapping and music production. When he was growing up, he connected with artists like Devlin, Drake, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Kano. In an interview, it was shared that Dave studied Hans Zimmer's music when he was a teenager. Besides rapping, Dave also produces music and plays the piano and guitar.

Music Style

Dave is known as a conscious hip hop artist. He is often praised for his "amazing lyrics" and "clever wordplay." One critic wrote that Dave's "lyrics are smart, thoughtful, honest, and self-aware." Another described him as "one of the most talented lyricists who speaks for his generation." Dave's music often blends styles and tells stories about Black British life.

Dave's music is inspired by his own life experiences. In his songs, he talks about topics like racism, unfair treatment, and sometimes politics. Music critics have noted his strong lyrics, saying they "move between personal feelings and political ideas with powerful honesty." He is also praised for his ability to share these stories with his audience. Throughout his career, Dave has tried different music styles, including afrobeats with "Location," UK drill with "Clash," and grime with "Thiago Silva."

Other Activities

Charity Work

On September 6, 2020, Dave played in Soccer Aid, a charity football match that raises money for GAVI, an organization that helps provide vaccines.

After conflicts began in Gaza, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan in October 2023, Dave used social media to sell items from his clothing brand, "Psycho." He raised almost £500,000 to donate to charities helping people in Palestine, Congo, and Sudan. Dave also released a song called "Peace Dream," where he raps about these conflicts and points out unfairness. He shared on Twitter that the money raised would go to those in need.

Modelling

Dave started modelling for Pharrell Williams' first collection for Louis Vuitton at Paris Fashion Week in 2023.

Baller League UK

In March 2025, it was announced that Dave would manage Santan FC, one of 12 teams in Baller League UK. This is a six-a-side football league shown on Sky Sports. His team won its first match on March 24, 2025, beating Trebol FC 6–4.

Discography

Studio albums

• Psychodrama (2019)
• We're All Alone in This Together (2021)

EPs

• Six Paths (2016)
• Game Over (2017)
• Split Decision (with Central Cee) (2023)

Filmography

Awards and Nominations