Street Tuff


"Street Tuff" is a 1989 single by British producer and toaster Rebel MC and Double Trouble. It became the biggest hit of both performers' careers, peaking at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. It is the follow-up to their first hit, "Just Keep Rockin'", which made it into the UK Top 20. The two songs, plus Rebel MC's first solo single "Better World", appear on the Rebel MC album Rebel Music, released in 1990. Additionally "Street Tuff" also peaked within the Top 10 in Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
The song is based on the bassline to the song "54-46 That's My Number" by The Maytals.

Critical reception

David Taylor-Wilson from Bay Area Reporter said the song is "one of the most infectious grooves we've heard all year." He added that it "mixes the rhythms of Jamaican reggae with a house music beat. Just try and sit still when this one’s playing." Bill Coleman from Billboard wrote that "clever rhyming powered by insinuating club beats could generate multiformat play to follow the U.K. act's previous smash, "Just Keep Rockin'"." The Network Forty noted that featuring the "sultry Annie Lennox style vocals of Janet Sewall, this Rap-Dance record covers both musical realms with equal zeal."

Peak positions