The Streets: ace socio-philosophical raps

Watching daytime TV, queuing for burgers, necking pills and drinking Tennents Super in the morn. The Streets, a.k.a. Mike Skinner‘s slacker word. Mouthy wideboy from Brixton. Via means streets of Birmingham. The sophomore disc. ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’.

Debut ‘Original Pirate Material’. Worthy of Mercury Music Prize and Brit Award. Nominated but no wins. Self-produced maiden recording - rudiment, raw, original. Production skills progressed marginally. His lyrics are so gripping that the tonal shortcoming are irrelevant. Limitations are of little consequence. It rejoices in its punk/DIY attitude.

Concept album. About a drug deal gone wrong and the missing grand. Then, more of the other things: girl problems, personal issues and the urge to strive for more/better oneself is still here. It is a template for the modern downturn in education, expectations and aspirations…

The soundtrack to the L-gen… Lost? Lubricated? Learned-not? Regrets, unrequited lust [after a girl in JB Sports store], dreams, scene, the smell of streets… The role of an artist is to put you right there in a time and place so you can SMELL it. The Streets’ stinks, the imagery that is, the disc is simply - divinely perfumed. Designery it ain’t, it is the stern urban stuff.

The lead-single 'Fit But You Know It' is simply a gem, sounding great/different/uplifting on the radio with its stuck-in-your-ear guitar riff and the catchy storyline… There also few of generic garage songs: ‘Get Out Of My House’ and ‘What Is He Thinking’. But then, there is ‘Dry Your Eyes’, a true tearjerker that displays Skinner’s altern-artistic side and it could well turn out to be this generation’s ‘Everybody Hurts’.

The Streets’ real gifts are astute observations, and capturing and storytelling what Brit-life is all about. With down-to-earth monologue/dialogues and anthemic sounding tunes, from ‘Not Addicted’ touches - Skinner's real-life yearning for a flutter, as all of us… Focus on ‘Empty Cans’. This is the leader of the Brit-rap/Hip-hop expression…

The Streets invite you to turn on, tune in and join up… Living ain’t easy. Music like this makes this tragedy just about bearable… For its duration; you then have to play it again, and again… And then some. Idiomatic kinda album, fellow shopper.

As a document of the UK now, it rivals ‘The Royle Family’ and ‘The Office’… In more global terms - he’s Eminem GB… Dizzee Rascal and Wiley. Watch out.

Skinner’s The Streets have successfully turned lowlife into high art. Priceless… [Or whatever the shop charges.]

9/10