For what has seemed like an age for grime fans, the wait for Skepta’s latest album; titled Konnichiwa, is over. Although Skepta has been around for years, his international recognition has sky-rocketed since the release of his 2014 return to roots track ‘That’s Not Me’, featuring his brother Jme; and it’s safe to say this track has been a stalwart for grime’s recent resurgence. Distancing himself from his period of materialism and rap cliché “I used to wear Gucci put it all the bin cus that’s not me” has brought one of grime’s main men to the forefront of music globally, and it’s safe to say Konnichiwa translates all of grime’s greatest aspects; the beats, the flows and the collaborations and people on a global scale are going to understand why grime is one of the most authentic and original music scenes.
Although some people have questioned as to why 5 out of the album’s 12 tracks have already been released as singles, it doesn’t take anything away from the album in the slightest. In fact, the album uses songs like ‘It Ain’t Safe’ and ‘Man’ as a reminder that Skepta sets high precedents for his unreleased tracks, which of course they duly oblige to live up to. The previously released songs, especially ‘Shutdown’ has helped excel Skepta’s global fanbase, and people should be grateful that because of these releases they become more eager to hear the rest of the albums tracks; and they don’t disappoint.
The aforementioned use of collaboration with other grime artists has always been one of Skepta’s greatest assets and the album’s unreleased highlights include ‘Lyrics’, featuring Novelist, ‘Corn On The Curb’ feat. Wiley and ‘Numbers’, featuring an excellent old-school appearance from Pharrell Williams. ‘Lyrics’ is a particular highlight, in which Skepta explores the grime scenes’ clash culture, mentioning his previous clashes with Birmingham MC Devilman who he recently beefed with in 2015, saying: “But right now, your bars ain’t on fleek, You don’t wanna clash me, you will get murked”, an acknowledgement that he knows he’s at the top of the game right now.
Another element of his music that Skepta excels in is sampling other tracks and sound-bites into his songs; whether it’s for the beats or just as a set-up for the track. On ‘Man’; Skepta samples the Queens of the Stone Age song ‘Regular John’ where he spits over a menacing beat, talking about those who aren’t in his circle. In the pre-hook, he basically sums up the close-knit elements of grime by saying: “I don’t know why man’s callin’ me family all of a sudden, Like hmm, my mum don’t know your mum, Stop telling man you’re my cousin, I got day ones and I got new ones, No fake ones, trust no one, It’s Boy Better Know ’til I die”; here Skepta also talks about his disregard for those who try to use his fame for their own gain, shutting down any fakers.
Skepta’s most famous use of sound-bites are of course from his 2015 mega-hit ‘Shutdown’; in which he takes Drake’s famous “Man’s never been in Marquee when it’s shutdown eh? Truss me daddi” vine as the intro. As well as that, Skepta uses a skit of a white, middle-class woman complaining about the appearance of himself and 30 other grime artists on Kanye West’s performance of ‘All Day’ live at the Brits, with the woman saying: “A bunch of young men all dressed in black dancing extremely aggressively on stage, it made me feel so intimidated and it’s just not what I expect to see on prime time TV”, here Skepta just makes a fool of this ridiculous complaint and proceeds to ‘shutdown’ any potential race hate by spitting with an excellent flow saying “Sitting at the front just like Rosa Parks, Trust me, You don’t wanna see me get dark.”
Overall, it’s absolutely safe to say that Konnichiwa has been worth the excruciating wait. Every track has seamless flow, typically hard grime beats, deep lyrics and there are some jaw-dropping collaborations, and there’s no reason whatsoever preventing this album becoming an instant grime classic. I’d recommend of course to any grime fan but also to those who try to write off grime as a genre, songs like ‘Shutdown’ help address stupid stigmas revolving around grime, just give this album a chance and there should be no way it can disappoint. Once again, Skepta just proves why he’s one of grime’s main men and the recognition this album will get for the scene is unprecedented; a truly excellent project.
Words by Elliott Jones