Rap acts

As Top Boy demonstrates once again, acting seems to come naturally to some British music stars – if not Ed Sheeran

The new Top Boy did not start auspiciously. The old weak points combined with a whole gang of new clangers to undermine the downbeat realism of this drama: the opening scene, like a pastiche of a pastiche of The Godfather; fragile, flimsy Lizzy still not convincing as one of the country's biggest drug barons; the rigmarole with the old drinks cans, a completely impractical way to shift the amount of "food" these chaps do.

Does it matter? No, because the brilliant, understated acting has always been what carries Top Boy.

But why is it that these these people – almost all successful rap stars in their own right – are such effortlessly good actors? The increasingly Eddie Murphy lookalike Ashley Walters, formerly known as Asher D, came to fame as a member of So Solid Crew, a rap outfit who were perhaps too far ahead of their time to really thrive. Little Simz is a more recent star, who had a huge role at this year's Brits. And then there's Kano, who's never been a No 1 artist but has made consistently fine, thoughtful albums and is hugely respected in the British musical movement that used to be called grime. Jasmine Jobson, playing the inscrutable Jaq, is conspicuous as the only one without a musical career on the side. Somehow, I'm pretty sure she could bash out a decent flow if she felt like it.

So here's a mystery: why can rappers act? It's not common to all musicians. Ed Sheeran single-handedly destroyed all eight series of Game of Thrones with his criminally awful cameo. Is it to do with the nature of rap, a storytelling form in which the rapper often deliver something akin to a dramatic monologue? Think of Eminem's up-and-coming star shitting himself in "Lose Yourself". Or the maniac fan whose increasingly deranged letters give "Stan" its shocking power.

However they do it, these brilliant rapper-actors have always given Top Boy it's heft, its grit and its ugly lyricism. I've only seen one episode so far, but I'm quite sure they are going to pull it off again.