It seems like grime fans have waited a lifetime waiting for Skepta’s 4th studio album ‘Konnichiwa’, after a string of delays and missed proposed release datas, Skepta announced on Instagram 3 week weeks ago that the release date would officially be today, May 6th. In his interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, Skepta did admit he would never announce an album ever again, as he said…
“Waking up with that on your head almost doesn’t allow you to make the best album you can. That’s why it’s taken me so long”
The good news is that ‘Konnichiwa’ is out and available in stores and online now. It went straight to No.1 in the UK iTunes Album Chart and features the majority of his most recent singles including the nostalgic ‘That’s Not Me’ with his brother JME, ‘It Aint Safe’ which flew the UK grime sound Stateside and featuring New York rapper Young Lord, ‘Ladies Hit Squad’, ‘Shutdown‘ and his newest single ‘Man’. It also features a track with Pharrell called ‘Numbers’, which again proves just how much grime is growing as a genre by working with one of the most successful producers and songwriters on the planet at the moment.
The album itself plays as a true hats-off to indipendant and self made music. Grime as a whole has grafted its way into the ‘mainstream’, relying on rappers helping other rappers and support from the very dedicated grime fans. Konnichiwa stays true to this, even the second line of the first track ‘Konnichiwa’ is ‘man are trying to get out the matrix far from the agents’, referring to the pressures put on him in the industry. This theme of independence and having control of his music runs throughout Konnichiwa with hits like ‘That’s Not Me’ basically telling the world everything he’s not.
You can check out Konnichiwa album below, and remember to buy if you’re a fan to another indipendant artist with their well deserved success….
