Ignorance is Bliss – Skepta

Harry

Skepta is an artist I admire a lot but have honestly felt he has more in the locker to his impact outside of his solo material and from the limited interviews I’ve seen. Don’t get me wrong, I love his music, but felt there is more to come. This idea was made more tangible by his work on ASAP Rocky’s recent album. Upon the release of IIB, I hoped this sound might act as the seed. I believe this is mostly true and for me, this was a great listen. He mixes metallic beats with swirling sci-fi-esque synths exquisitely throughout the album. Skepta provides a high level of introspection in his lyrics, which I enjoyed in his past projects. It’s a very consistent album for me and my biggest problem, sadly, is the contribution by the feature artists, some of which are trash. There was also no distinct banger, (Shutdown vibes), but I look forward to seeing how this album grows on me.

83/100

Zach

It’s safe to say, Skepta has had some all time bangers for the ages, and while I hadn’t properly listened to one of his albums until Konnichiwa, I was extremely excited of the prospect of this new album. This album review will take 2 strands: lyrical and musical. Lyrically, this album embodies Skepta’s light-hearted punchline bars that he has had throughout his career, and combines them with his signature lyrics concerning the black experience in urban London. Lyrically, this album is pure, authentic Skepta. However, musically, the album moves significantly towards the popular trend of trap beats over grime beats. At first, I was not a fan of this change, not only are the first couple of songs pretty trash, but also as a British music icon, this inherent Americanisation of his sound I feared would compromise the position of his artistry. However, as the album progressed, the beats knocked harder, Skepta stayed on tip-top form lyrically and it ended up being a very enjoyable listen. I do think its missing an ‘all time banger for the ages’ though.

77/100