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Lily Allen · S7 E2
Trigger Bang
Revisiting the past with Giggs — and the girl she used to be
December 12, 2017. After three years of silence, Lily Allen announces her comeback with a guest verse from Giggs, one of UK road rap's most notorious names, and nobody sees it coming.
"Talking the Hardest" by Giggs (2010). This is the man Lily Allen calls when she wants to blow up her own sound. Giggs built UK road rap from Peckham council estates, rapping about a world that couldn't be further from pop, and this track is the song that made him a legend in South London. When you hear this, the 'Trigger Bang' collaboration suddenly makes perfect sense.
The Hardest Man in Peckham
Giggs is not the kind of artist you'd expect on a Lily Allen record. Born Nathaniel Thompson in Peckham, South London, he's one of the founding voices of UK road rap, a genre built on council estate stories and unfiltered street narrative. He'd been banned from performing live in London by the Metropolitan Police under Form 696 restrictions for years. This is who Lily Allen calls when she wants to make the most unexpected record of her career.
TAP TO REVEAL: What catapulted Giggs into the international spotlight just before the Lily Allen collaboration?
“When I heard his verse, I just thought, that's it. That's what this album needs. I wanted something that would make people go, what is Lily Allen doing?”
— Lily Allen, on working with Giggs, Dazed Digital (2018)
Talking the Hardest, Giggs (2010)
'Talking the Hardest' is built on a menacing, minimal beat that lets Giggs's deep South London drawl do all the work. Listen for the delivery: half-rapped, half-spoken, with a cadence that sounds like someone telling you a story in a pub and daring you to interrupt. The production is deliberately sparse, just enough bass and percussion to keep the energy moving while Giggs controls the room with nothing but his voice. This is the exact vocal style he brings to 'Trigger Bang,' and hearing it here explains why the pairing with Lily Allen works so well.
Crossing Over
The Giggs collaboration isn't just a musical choice. It's a statement about who Lily Allen sees herself as in 2017: a London artist reconnecting with the city she left behind. She's always carried London in her music, from the Cockney inflections on 'LDN' to the council estate wit on Alright, Still, and 'Trigger Bang' is her way of connecting to the London that exists now.
Trigger Bang: The Backstory
Your Choice, Lily Allen feat. Burna Boy
'Your Choice' pairs Lily with Burna Boy, the Nigerian Afrobeats star, making it No Shame's second cross-genre collaboration after 'Trigger Bang.' Where Giggs brings South London grime, Burna Boy brings Lagos heat, and the result proves Lily's voice can work in places nobody expected. It's the clearest statement of No Shame's creative philosophy: no boundaries, no rules, no shame.
Your Choice, Lily Allen feat. Burna Boy (2018)
Follow the words as the track plays. Two artists from completely different worlds, singing about the same thing: a relationship where nobody wants to make the first move. The contrast between Lily's London vowels and Burna Boy's Lagos flow is the whole point.
What genre is Giggs primarily associated with?
The next track on No Shame is called 'Lost My Mind,' and it's not a metaphor. Lily Allen is about to describe what it feels like when reality starts slipping, and she isn't going to spare a single detail.
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