Skepta - Konnichiwa

“By now you should know I hate waiting, I’ve got no patience,” begins Skepta on ‘Konnichiwa’’s opening title track. It’s a bit of a fib, really – ‘Konnichiwa’’s been waiting in the wings for years now, gestating while grime surged to the top. Now it’s here, though, he’s hitting the ground running.

Punctuated by samples and skits that paint the most vibrant picture of inner-city life put to tape in years, it’s impossible not to see ‘Konnichiwa’ as grime’s golden moment, but it’s its human side that really shines.

‘Man’, ‘Lyrics’ and – of course - ‘Shutdown’ might revel in bravado, but it’s the spoken word exchange at the end of ‘Corn On The Curb’ and the reinvention at the heart of ‘That’s Not Me’ that show Skepta to be self-aware like few in his position could manage, holding fame at arm’s length while he comes to terms with his own psyche.