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Riko Dan

Zane Benson Williams, better known by his stage name Riko Dan and formerly by the mononym Riko, is an English multi-genre MC from Mile End, East London. He rose to prominence in 2004 as a member of the pioneering grime collective Roll Deep, of which he remains an active member, and is also established in other sound system genres including bashment, jungle, and dubstep, with a prolific discography as a featured artist. He has charted on the UK singles chart with the 2024 Rudimental, Skepsis and Charlotte Plank collaboration "Green and Gold".

Career
1994–1999: Career beginnings, house parties and pirate radio Williams has performed as an MC since the age of fifteen, when he would rap over breakbeat hardcore at house parties and later jungle on pirate radio. He gained minor recognition as a regular performer on Rinse. 2003: Pay As U Go Cartel and first collaborations Williams had befriended multiple members of Bow-based UK garage group Pay As U Go at the age of about sixteen through family ties, The months following his release were musically prolific and he recorded "about six" tracks for a Pay As U Go album, but within "about seven or eight months" of him joining the crew, it disbanded. which ultimately appeared on an Aim High compilation. By November 2004, he had been remanded to HMP Brixton to stand trial for another alleged offence, and recorded a verse for Lady Sovereign's "Random" remix over the phone. The case against him was dropped in late December 2004. Williams appeared on the bonus track "Poltergeist (Remix)" on Roll Deep's 2005 debut album In at the Deep End, As part of Roll Deep, he also appeared on Top of the Pops, providing backing vocals on a 2005 rendition of "The Avenue". During this period, he began recording a prospective debut solo album for Sony Music, which was to include the previously released songs "Dead That" (featuring God's Gift) and "Don't Want You Back" (featuring Breeze), but the plans for a record deal fell through when he returned to jail in 2006. 2008–2013: Sleeping Giant and Rise of the Farda Williams went on to appear on all Roll Deep albums except their pop rap albums Winner Stays On (2010) and X (2012), for which they involved a smaller number of members. He had been introduced to the label by his then-manager, long-standing Rinse FM DJ Uncle Dugs. and releasing a 2013 surprise mixtape, Rise of the Farda, via Logan Sama's Adamantium label. and The Bug's 2016 single "Iceman", which appeared on a double single also featuring D Double E and reached number 23 on the same chart. In 2018, he released the Hard Food EP on Pinch's record label Tectonic, marking the label's hundredth release. The following year, he released a pair of grime singles, "CR7" and "Farda", via Logan Sama's labels Keepin' It Grimy and Adamantium. The same year, he released the Trends-produced single "Run Dem Down", previously a dubplate dating back to 2015. 2020–present: Chart success and Sony/Epic Records deal In 2023, Williams collaborated with Slimzee and Boylan on the single "Mile End". The song was the first release on the FWD>> record label, an offshoot of the pioneering dubstep club night launched in partnership with Sony. In 2024, Williams featured alongside Charlotte Plank on the Rudimental and Skepsis single "Green and Gold", which peaked at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart. He appeared at Capital FM's Summertime Ball to perform the song. Other notable appearances in 2024 included a feature on K Motionz and ArrDee's "Heavyweight", which was released via Universal and reached number 30 on the New Zealand Hot Songs Chart. In July 2025, he debuted on Epic Records with a new solo single, "Bad Boi Selecta", produced by Jack Marlow. ==Personal life and artistry==
Personal life and artistry
Riko raps in what he has described as a "Cockney yardie" style of Jamaican Patois. He enjoyed toasting along to dancehall tapes in his early teens and discovered that he could closely imitate Bounty Killer's tone; his nickname London City Warlord is a variation on Bounty Killer's, The Warlord. He founded the short-lived crew Cemetery Warriors alongside fellow Caribbean-British MCs Flowdan, Killa P and God's Gift, known for their similar vocal delivery. He also collaborated with Monkey Marc, Pinch, Ninjaman and others on the 2019 song "King Street", part of an EP with an "anti-crime and anti-violence message". He is an avid Manchester United fan and presented the NTS Radio football talk show Verbal Volley between 2015 and 2016, latterly joined by DJ Karnage and Discarda. He was involved in building the London Stadium. ==Discography==
Discography
Solo Mixtapes • 2008: The Truth Vol. 1 (Roll Deep Recordings) Guest appearances With Roll Deep Albums • 2005: In at the Deep End • 2007: Rules and Regulations • 2008: Return of the Big Money Sound Mixtapes • 2004: Creeper Vol. 1 • 2004: Creeper Vol. 2 • 2010: Say No More • 2012: No Comment Star With Boasty Gang Albums • 2020: Boasty Gang: The Album ==References==
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