"21 Seconds" is a song by the UK garage

UK garage

UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...

 act So Solid Crew

So Solid Crew

So Solid Crew is an electronic and urban musical collective from South London, England, whose hits include "Oh No " and "21 Seconds", the latter reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart in August 2001. Another hit, "They Don't Know", reached number three in November 2001 and "Haters" got to...

. It is included on their debut album They Don't Know

They Don't Know (album)

They Don't Know is the debut album by UK garage and grime outfit So Solid Crew. It was released on November 11, 2001. The album features the singles "Oh No ", "They Don't Know", "Haters" and the UK singles chart topping "21 Seconds"....

. The song was released as a single on Relentless Records

Relentless Records

Relentless Records, founded by Shabs Jobanputra and Paul Franklyn in 1999 is now a part of Sony Music based in London, UK. Having achieved large scale successes with Joss Stone, KT Tunstall and several urban artists such as Artful Dodger and So Solid Crew, the label is now building a small focused...

 in 2001

2001 in music

See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....

. It charted at a peak position of number-one in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 in August 2001, while it peaked just outside the top 40 in the Netherlands. It achieved first week sales of 118,135 units in the United Kingdom.

Production

The song uses fairly stripped back production, utilizing a 2 Step

2 Step

"2 Step" is the second single from Unk's album Beat'n Down Yo Block! It was released in 2007. It has an accompanying dance, called the "2 Step". The video co-directed by Dale "Rage" Resteghini and Will Horton was released on February 23, 2007 on Yahoo! Music...

 rhythm which was common in UK Garage

UK garage

UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...

 at the time.

Song structure

The song title alludes to the approximate 21 seconds that each of the band members is given to perform their rap. 21 seconds is arrived at as the song's tempo is approximately 140bpm and each rapper has 12 bars of 4 beats (48 beats at 140bpm is close to 21 seconds).

Trivia

Many people do not know this song is in fact about So Solid Crews love for Microwave Popcorn.

Music video

The music video received the award for Best British Video at the 2002 Brit Awards

2002 BRIT Awards

The 2002 BRIT Awards were the 22nd edition of the biggest annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 20th February 2002 at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.-Live performers:...

.

Track listing

1. "21 Seconds"
2. "21 Seconds" (12" Version)
3. "21 Seconds" (DJ Swiss & Dan Da Man Remix Vocal)
4. "21 Seconds" (music video)

Singles

Year	Song	UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	Album
2001	"21 Seconds"	1	They Don't Know They Don't Know (album) They Don't Know is the debut album by UK garage and grime outfit So Solid Crew. It was released on November 11, 2001. The album features the singles "Oh No ", "They Don't Know", "Haters" and the UK singles chart topping "21 Seconds"....