Editing Craig David (section)

===1999–2003: ''Born to Do It'' and ''Slicker Than Your Average''===
The song "[[Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)]]", from the Artful Dodger album ''[[It's All About the Stragglers]]'', hit number two on the UK charts in 1999; thus, paving the way for a solo career. David's first single, "[[Fill Me In]]", released on [[Colin Lester]]'s and Ian McAndrew's [[Telstar Records|Wildstar Records]], topped the UK chart and was the first of a string of four top 10 singles from his debut album ''[[Born to Do It]]'', which eventually sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, earning multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries.<ref>[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=craig david|chart=all}} Billboard.com – Artist Chart History – Craig David<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The song "Key to My Heart", taken from the US version of the album, was also featured in the award-winning [[Warner Bros.]] animated film ''[[Osmosis Jones]]''.

The success of David's debut, which was written almost entirely by David and [[Mark Hill (musician)|Mark Hill]] of [[Artful Dodger (duo)|Artful Dodger]], led to the United States release of "Fill Me In" in May 2001. It reached number 15 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart. ''[[Born to Do It]]'' was released in the United States on 17 July 2001, peaking at number 11 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart and sold over 1 million copies. The single "7 Days" hit the top 10 in the U.S.; although "Walking Away", which had reached number 3 in the UK and number 5 in Australia, missed the top 40 in the U.S. and was the last of his singles to chart there.

In April 2009, MTV viewers voted ''Born to Do It'' as number 2 on their "Greatest Album of All Time" poll, behind [[Michael Jackson]]'s ''[[Thriller (album)|Thriller]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/04/09/michael-jackson-s-album-thriller-voted-best-album-since-1981-115875-21265620/|title=Michael Jackson's Thriller voted best album since 1981|website=[[Daily Mirror]]|date=8 April 2009|access-date=3 September 2009|archive-date=15 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715224715/http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/04/09/michael-jackson-s-album-thriller-voted-best-album-since-1981-115875-21265620/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The follow-up album, ''[[Slicker Than Your Average]]'', was released in 2002. The album's first four singles continued David's streak of top 10 hits in the UK, bringing a total of nine consecutive top 10 hits until "World Filled with Love" peaked at number 15 in 2003. None of the six singles released from the album charted in the U.S. Although "What's Your Flava?" and "[[Rise & Fall (Craig David song)|Rise & Fall]]" (duet with [[Sting (musician)|Sting]]) received airplay on the [[urban contemporary]] and [[Adult contemporary music#Soft adult contemporary|soft adult contemporary]] formats, they did not make the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]] or [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] charts. However, "What's Your Flava?" made the [[Rhythmic (chart)|Rhythmic Top 40]] chart (number 32), [[Mainstream Top 40]] chart (number 24) and the [[Top 40 Tracks]] chart (number 37). According to the [[RIAA]], ''Slicker Than Your Average'' was certified gold in the U.S.

David also commented that the album title could be looked at in two different ways: "On the one hand, it's coming across like I'm arrogant. On the other hand, it's saying I have a lot more composure on the album." The album was leaked onto the internet prior to its official release but David was not too bothered as he felt it "spreads the word".<ref>{{cite web |first=Adam |last=Gonshor |url=http://www.andpop.com/2002/11/29/interview-craig-david-releases-slicker-than-your-average/ |title=Craig David releases Slicker Than Your Average |publisher=andPop.com |date=29 November 2002 |access-date=9 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518052519/http://www.andpop.com/2002/11/29/interview-craig-david-releases-slicker-than-your-average/ |archive-date=18 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>