@charliesloth
If you’re an avid listener of hip-hop and rap, chances are you may have heard of Charlie Sloth. Charlie Sloth is a British DJ, hype man, producer and TV presenter.
Sloth became a big name in the UK as the presenter of the BBC’s 1Xtra Rap Show, the evening edition of “The 8th” on BBC’s Radio 1 and the freestyle show “Fire in the Booth.” His coverage of the underground rap scene in the UK put British artists on the map by providing a platform for recognition.
Here are 10 facts you may not have known about Charlie Sloth:
Hustler Ways
One fact you probably didn’t know about Charlie Sloth is he has been a hustler from the very beginning. Born in the London borough of Camden, Sloth’s working class parents didn’t have much money, so he began hustling as early as 11 years old. Sloth began by selling his packed lunch on the first day of school. The money he made from selling his lunches went towards ingredients to make more sandwiches to sell. When he became older, he switched to selling cigarettes. His gig selling cigarettes earned him about 40 pounds a day.
He Began DJing at 14
All DJs have to start somewhere. Sloth began DJing when he was 14 years old. In a “No Jumper” interview, Sloth told Adam22 that he pretended he was 18 so he could DJ at different clubs around the UK. It was around this time that his love for music began to blossom. In the interview he cited who and what inspired him.
Sloth told Adam22, “For me it was very British-esque music. Skinny Man, Task Force, early British rap, Rodney P and Ty. These are the guys that when I was that age were like my peers, the people I looked up to… From a very young age I was kind of ingrained in that community.” Sloth’s first encounter with rap music was a borrowed cassette tape of NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton.” Sloth said, “I knew every single bar word for word… I felt like a connection to it.”
Pirate Radio Prodigy
Another fact you may have not known about Charlie Sloth is that he began his radio career doing pirate radio which was a huge deal in Europe. A pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. Sloth told Adam22 in the same “No Jumper” interview that he did a pirate radio show on Raw FM which he described as a “proper hood station.”
Sloth said that these pirate radio stations would often take place in lift shafts or old trap houses. While Sloth was doing these shows, he had to pay about 10 pounds to be on the air. By the time Sloth was 17, he was doing about seven different shows on seven pirate radio stations a week.
WorldStarHipHop Success of “Being Charlie Sloth”
Perhaps what launched Sloth into recognition was his YouTube show called “Being Charlie Sloth.” During this time, YouTube was still a fresh platform and loads of UK rappers were doing vlogs. Sloth, however, didn’t want to pursue vlogs because he felt like it didn’t represent who he was. Instead, he came up with “Being Charlie Sloth” to showcase all the different aspects of himself.
Sloth would play eight stereotypical characters that reflected the different roles he had such as the manager, editor, artist and the street team. Sloth contemplated retiring the show after dismal views on the first episode. That changed when WorldStarHipHop founder, Lee ‘Q’ O’Denat reached out to Sloth after viewing the first episode. O’Denat told him that he wanted to make the show an exclusive on WorldStar which Sloth happily agreed to. The British DJ put out “Being Charlie Sloth” every Monday for 67 weeks and garnered millions of views, especially from the United States.
Big Break on the BBC
Charlie Sloth finally gained recognition in the UK when he was approached by the BBC to cover a show for the DJ Cemtex. Once he was done covering for Cemtex, the BBC reached out to Charlie to offer him his own show with a UK rapper as his co-host. The co-host backed out and the BBC told Sloth they didn’t want to go forward with just himself. A few days later, the BBC reached out again to offer him a spot for his own show.
Despite having signed a lucrative deal to bring “Being Charlie Sloth” to the US, Sloth accepted the role on the BBC. In the “No Jumper” interview, Sloth recounted the reason for his decision and said, “I spent a lot of time thinking about it and I was like, ‘I know if I walk into that building, into the BBC, I’m gonna crush it. I’m gonna take over in a few years. And I’ll be able to do something for the UK scene that nobody’s ever done or nobody’s even tried to do.’”
Tim Westwood Beef
When Sloth joined the BBC, he came in with big aspirations. These aspirations included bringing in his now legendary “Fire in the Booth” show and replacing the BBC’s Tim Westwood in five years. Sloth told Adam22, that he told Westwood that he was coming for his job. Westwood did not like that. Sloth said, “I’ve got nothing but respect and admiration for Tim Westwood for what he’s done for music especially in the UK. I’d never say a bad word about him but he’s always felt a certain way about me.”
Sloth explained that if Tim Westwood was smart, Westwood should have offered to manage Sloth instead of talking down on him for his ambitions. Through the beef, Sloth accomplished his goal sooner and replaced Westwood in just three years.
“Fire in the Booth”
Sloth’s online freestyle platform “Fire in the Booth ” was his project that he brought with him when he signed on to the BBC despite his bosses not believing in it. Sloth wanted to emphasize having real talented rappers appear on the show. He only drops episodes that he feels are very good. Sloth recalls two defining moments on the show that included UK rapper K Koke and Drake appearing on “Fire in the Booth.” Sloth has been open about not dropping episodes where the rappers did poorly. He told Adam22, “For me it’s about the artists. I’ve never done Fire in the Booth thinking, ‘This is about me.’”
Bye Bye BBC
He left the BBC earlier than he anticipated after he stormed the stage at the Arias ceremony in 2018. Sloth lost the spot in the best music specialist show category to Edith Bowman’s Soundtracking podcast which prompted him to storm the stage in a very Kanye-esque way and said, “Edith Bowman, fuck your life … I just wanna say BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Saturday night rap show. Fuck your life. God bless.” Sloth went on to say that his actions were supposed to “be a bit of bants.” He was already due to leave the BBC, however, his stint at the awards show prompted the BBC to terminate him immediately after a decade of being with the network. Sloth has since apologized to Edith Bowman for his remarks.
Vodka Entrepreneur
Another interesting fact about the British DJ is he owns his own vodka company called Au Vodka. Au is the top-selling premium vodka in the UK and third in Australia. It has outsold Ciroc, Grey Goose and Belvedere. The vodka is only available in Europe, although Sloth hopes to launch the liquor to the United States in 2022.
Owns His Own Club
Since Charlie Sloth is a DJ, it would make sense that he opened a club to DJ at. That’s exactly what he’s done. Sloth opened a VIP style club in Warrington, England called Illuminati Nights. The club launched with a New Year’s Eve party in 2019 and featured Charlie Sloth himself and rapper Yungen. Tickets for standard VIP are £250 and super VIP tickets are £300.
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