"Unorthodox" is a song by

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

-born rapper

Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The ...

featuring vocals from British

recording artist A musician is someone who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate a person who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters, ...

Example Example may refer to: * ''exempli gratia'' (e.g.), usually read out in English as "for example" * .example, reserved as a domain name that may not be installed as a top-level domain of the Internet ** example.com, example.net, example.org, an ...

. It was released on 17 April 2011 as the second single from his second studio album ''

Black and White Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

''. A 12"

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

was released the following day. The song samples Run D.M.C.'s "What's It All About" and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

band

The Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...

' 1989 hit " Fools Gold" which appears on the US version of ''

'' and later on ''

Turns into Stone ''Turns into Stone'' is a compilation album by English rock band the Stone Roses, released in 1992. It consists of early singles and B-sides that did not feature on their self-titled debut album. The compilation reached number 32 on the UK al ...

''. The track was produced and co-written by British production team Future Cut. The song also features on the album '' Now 79''. "Unorthodox" was selected as the ''Weekend Anthem'' of

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

Jo Whiley Johanne Whiley-Morton (born 4 July 1965), better known professionally as Jo Whiley, is an English radio DJ and television presenter. She was the host of the long-running '' Jo Whiley Show'' on BBC Radio 1 and has since been presenting her weekd ...

for 26–27 March 2011. It also features on the soundtrack of ''

FIFA Street ''FIFA'' was a Association football, football video game franchise developed by EA Vancouver and EA Romania and published by EA Sports. As of 2011, the ''FIFA'' franchise has been localized into 18 languages and available in 51 countries. Listed ...

''.

Critical reception

Lewis Corner of ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...

'' gave the song a positive review stating:

"I got a good vibe/ I ain't trying to be bait with my hook lines," Wretch swaggers with rapper-turned-singer Example over thrumming beats and funk-infused guitars that sample the Stone Roses' 1989 hit 'Fools Gold' – proving there is still a place for a bit string plucking while maintaining a musical relevance in today's chart. "We don't follow no crowd, they follow us," they claim on the bouncy, summery and catchy-as-cholera chorus. Like with any new and exciting fad, let's hope it's in their droves..Music – Singles Review – Wretch 32 featuring Example: 'Unorthodox'
Digital Spy (17 April 2011). Retrieved on 2011-04-19.

Chart performance

"Unorthodox" first charted on 22 April 2011 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

at number 37 and then peaking 32, beating the peak of previous single "

Traktor Traktor is DJ software developed by Native Instruments. It is also used as a sub-brand for Native Instruments' associated DJ hardware products. History Traktor was first released in 2000. The initial versions available were ''Traktor DJ'' ...

", which reached number 45 in January 2011. On 24 April 2011, the single debuted at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending 30 April 2011, marking Wretch 32's highest-charting single to date and Example's second highest-charting single to date; with the latter's "

Changed the Way You Kiss Me "Changed the Way You Kiss Me" is a song by British singer Example from his third studio album, '' Playing in the Shadows''. It was released on 5 June 2011 as the album's lead single, after it had premiered on BBC Radio 1 as Zane Lowe's 'Hottest ...

" peaking at number 1. The following week the single fell five places to number 7; spending but another week in the top 10 before falling to number 16. "Unorthodox" then gradually fell down the chart, spending a total of six weeks in the top 40 before dropping down to number 43. The single also debuted at number-one on both the R&B releases chart and the independent releases chart, knocking off

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

's "

On the Floor "On the Floor" is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez for her seventh studio album, '' Love?'' (2011). Featuring American rapper Pitbull, it was released by Island Records on February 8, 2011, as the lead single from the album ...

" and

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

's " Someone Like You" respectively.

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of the single "Unorthodox" was first released on YouTube on 1 March 2011, directed by Ben Newman. The video lasts 3 minutes and 23 seconds long. The video begins with faded dictionary definition of the words 'Orthodox' and 'Unorthodox', the latter of which is defined as "breaking the convention or tradition". The song then begins to play with Wretch 32 and Example rapping besides one another when walking around the notorious

Broadwater Farm Broadwater Farm, often referred to simply as "The Farm", is an area in Tottenham, North London, straddling the River Moselle (London), River Moselle. The eastern half of the area is dominated by the Broadwater Farm Housing estate, Estate ("BWFE") ...

estate. The lyrics talk of people not adhering to the norm and as such the video features a range of unorthodox characters; including a young child with speakers in a shopping trolley, women with piercings, a woman shaving her head and a tattoo artist.Wretch 32 – Unorthodox – Music Video
YouTube, Retrieved 2011-04-19. The video features cameos from rappers

Chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of subtribe Tamiina. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks are classified as four genera: '' ...

, Scorcher, singer

Yasmin Yasmin, Yasmine, or Yasmina may refer to: People * Yasmin (name), a feminine given name, and sometimes a surname * Yasmin (musician) (born 1993), English singer, songwriter, and DJ * Yasmine (pornographic actress), Yasmine Lafitte, French actress ...

& Akai Osei

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unorthodox (Song) 2010 songs 2011 singles Wretch 32 songs Example (musician) songs Ministry of Sound singles Songs written by Iyiola Babalola Songs written by John Squire Songs written by Example (musician) Songs written by Ian Brown Songs written by Wretch 32 UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles