Ren: Welsh rapper's album Sick Boi is surprise number one

Ren, who releases his music independently, did not have the marketing budget of his closest competitors

Welsh rapper Ren has beaten the likes of Drake, Rick Astley and Troye Sivan to top the UK charts with his second album, Sick Boi.

It is a raw, soul-baring account of his battle with chronic illnesses that have left him unable to play live.

The star, from Anglesey, is currently in Canada receiving treatment for an autoimmune disease that requires him to receive IV medication five days a week.

He described reaching number one as "a victory over my illness".

Ren, whose full name is Ren Erin Gill, released his debut album in 2016, before his health forced him to withdraw from music.

"For years and years, I was so sick, I couldn't get out of bed," the 33-year-old told Huw Stephens on BBC Radio Wales this week.

"I kept bouncing around doctors. They'd tell me I was depressed but I knew in my gut it wasn't that, because there was so much physical pain, there was so much neurological problems."

Eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease, he needed a stem cell transplant "almost to bring me back to life".

But the illness had lingered so long - almost eight years - that it left him with ongoing autoimmune conditions.

The musician has only received sporadic radio play during late night specialist music shows on BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music

Last December, he addressed that struggle in a song called Hi Ren, a stripped-back but turbulent track where he confronts his illness through the voices in his head.

A YouTube video where he performs the song from a wheelchair in a hospital gown has been watched 20 million times.

His album builds on those stark, confessional themes.

On Seven Sins, he raps: "I lay broken on the kitchen floor/ I clawed at the laminate/ Pain wandered my body/ An uninvited guest."

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Released independently, without the expensive marketing budget of his competitors, Sick Boi was an unlikely contender for the top of the charts.

"I'm still in Canada receiving treatment, so I haven't done a single show to promote it, I haven't done signings," Ren told BBC Wales.

"I've been pushing it [online] while going and sitting five days a week with an IV [intravenous drip] in my arm."

Without traditional promotion, or daytime radio play on stations like BBC Radio 1 and Capital Xtra, Sick Boi was initially outsold by Rick Astley's ninth studio album Are We There Yet?

By Wednesday, however, Ren was just 133 sales behind the 80s pop star.

Over the last 24 hours, he pulled ahead, clinching the crown by almost 6,000 chart units, a figure that combines physical sales and plays on streaming services.

The rapper refused to be told the news in advance, instead tuning in to the chart countdown with his fans.

"I am out in Canada right now celebrating," he told BBC News. "We tuned into Radio 1 and have just heard the news that Sick Boi is number one.

"I am buzzing! This is the best moment of my life! Want to say a huge thank you to the [fan] community, couldn't have been done without them.

"This feels incredible, it's so affirming."

This week's top five albums

1. Ren - Sick Boi

2. Rick Astley - Are We There Yet?

3. Drake - For All The Dogs

4. Troye Sivan - Something To Give Each Other

5. Holly Humberstone - Paint My Bedroom Black