BRITISH rapper Wretch 32 scored his fifth Top 10 single on the UK Singles Chart last week. His latest single, 6 Words, entered that country’s largest chart at number six.

The North London-born artiste’s (real name Jermaine Scott Sinclair) parents are Jamaican. He visited Jamaica for the first time in September.

The 29-year-old is one of the hottest rappers in the United Kingdom. He got into music as a performer after shelving initial plans to become a radio broadcaster.

“My Dad was a big influence on me. He was a reggae DJ so I was brought up around music but never got into creating music until I was 16 or 17. It started out as a hobby, a way to vent my frustration, nothing too serious,” Wretch 32 told Splash. “Being a boy, it’s not always easy to talk about your feelings so I wrote mine down in lyric form and found I had the talent and passion for it.”

Prior to his solo career, he was a member of two groups: The Movement and Mercston. He released his debut solo album Wretchrospective in 2008 followed by the breakthrough Black and White three years later.

The latter contained three UK Top 10 singles: Traktor, Unorthodox (featuring rapper Example), and Don’t Go (with Josh Kumra) which went number one. Two other songs from the set, Forgiveness, featuring Etta Bond, peaked at number 49, while Hush Little Baby (with Ed Sheeran) reached number 35.

Black and White sold over one million copies. Its success attracted mainstream sponsors.

In 2012, Wretch 32 was used by both Adidas and Coca Cola as one of the faces for their London Olympics campaign. In July that year, he won ‘Best International Act’ at the BET Awards.

Last year, he maintained his momentum by teaming with British singer Shakka on the song Blackout which debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart.

On his third album, Growing Over Life, he collaborates with Beenie Man. He believes it is his strongest work to date.

“It’s fresh and current and showcases the growth of my music and me as an artiste,” he said.