Craig Ashley David, MBE (born May 5, 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who started his career in 1997. Mainly an R&B singer, David also cut his teeth in the burgeoning UK Garage scene. David first gained notoriety through writing the B-side "I'm Ready" for British boy band Damage, which earned him a record deal with Wildstar Records. Not long afterwards, he got connected with the garage production duo Artful Dodger when they met at a youth centre through a mutual associate, and they began recording tracks together.
He soon gained mainstream attention after co-writing and performing on several songs for Artful Dodger's debut album, It's All About the Stragglers, in 1999; most famously being featured on the hit-single "Re-Rewind". He released his first album Born to Do It in 2000, also chiefly produced by the Dodgers, which included his most famous songs "Fill Me In" and "7 Days", both of which topped the UK singles chart and reached the top-twenty of Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
Discography:
- It's All About the Stragglers (2000)note An Artful Dodger release; David co-wrote lyrics for and/or appeared on half of the album
- Born to Do It (2000)
- Slicker Than Your Average (2002)
- The Story Goes... (2005)
- Trust Me (2007)
- Signed Sealed Delivered (2010)
- Following My Intuition (2016)
- The Time Is Now (2018)
- 22 (2022)
- Commitment (2025)
Can you trope me in?
- Cover Album: Signed Sealed Delivered, an album full of Motown covers.
- "Days of the Week" Song: "7 Days".I met this girl on Monday
Took her for a drink on Tuesday
We were making love by Wednesday
And on Thursday and Friday and Saturday, we chilled on Sunday - Face on the Cover: All of his albums feature a picture of him to some degree, such as Born to Do It and Following My Intuition.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: The music video for "7 Days"👁 Image
uses a standard version until the final loop: After finally getting the day right, he spills a drink on his date. Rather than go through another loop, he breaks the fourth wall and rewinds the video about 30 seconds and just picks up from there. - Helicopter Parents: "Fill Me In" is about David and his girlfriend having to keep their relationship a secret from her overprotective parents. David mentions that her parents always seem to be checking up on her and constantly asking her questions. The song was specifically written as a commentary on the helicopter parenting phenomenon that reached its peak in the late 90s and early 2000s
- Intercourse with You: The narrator of "7 Days" mentions how he and his girlfriend made love on Wednesday.
- Meaningful Name: 22 was released in 2022.
- Revisiting the Roots: After shedding 2-step garage for more straightforward R&B post-Slicker Than Your Average, David would revisit the sound throughout the 2010s and 2020s; most notably his 2016 comeback Following My Intuition, and 2025's "Wake Up"; the latter being released during the 25th anniversary of his solo debut, "Fill Me In''.
- Sequel Song: The US edition of Born to Do It included a "Part 2" of "Fill Me In" (in actuality, a re-titling of the Full Crew remix). Unlike the hectic garage vibes of the original, "Part 2" is a sexy, mid-tempo R&B re-recording that switches the song's perspective from helicopter parenting, to David trying to woo a mysterious girl who keeps him on his toes by playing head games with him.
- Shout-Out: The name of his first album Born to Do It came from a quote by Willy Wonka from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
- Silly Love Songs: A fair amount of his songs, such as "Fill Me In".I was checkin' this girl next door when her parents went out
She phoned, said, "Hey boy, come on right around"
So I knock at the door
You were standin' with a bottle of red wine, ready to pour
Dressed in long black satin and lace to the floor
So I went in, then we sat down, start kissing, caressing
Told me about Jacuzzi, sounded interesting
So we jumped right in - Singer Name Drop: He did this with his first three songs. Whilst "Fill Me In" and "Seven Days" were just namedrops, "Re-Rewind The Crowd Say Bo Selecta" features the following lyrics, which also namedrops collaborators the Artful Dodger:You know, you know, the Artful Dodger do it like that
With Craig David all over your (boink sound effect) - Sound-Effect Bleep: The boink sound that plays in "Re-Rewind" that plays over the line where he talks about being over a woman's vagina.
- Special Guest: Bastille in "I Know You".
- Transatlantic Equivalent: He's often compared to Drake: A mixed-race (Black-Jewish) and pop-friendly artist who's capable of switching between singing and rapping with ease; the main difference being that David is firmly an R&B/Garage singer first, while Drake is mainly viewed as a rapper. Craig himself has acknowledged the comparison many times, and even mentioned that he and Drake had talked about doing a mixtape together.
