Grime’s mainstream rise in recent years has been unexpected but deserved. In its early days it was chiefly popular among urban youth, much like hip hop was in New York a few decades ago. Reflecting London’s street violence, the music was inevitably condemned by culturally ignorant politicians who attacked radio stations for playing it. You know, the same old story.
Fast forward to 2016 and grime artists are riding high in the charts and winning international acclaim. Skepta, in particular, has made a bigger international impact than anyone since Dizzee Rascal. Having been involved in the movement since more or less the very start, he’s since been endorsed by Drake and Kanye West and built up an American following.
Americans have taken to grime in a way that they never did to UK hip hop, which, despite some overlaps, is a distinct scene of its own. Hearing their own artform performed in a different accent holds little appeal, but grime is something entirely new.
Skepta possesses all the characteristics that make the genre so exciting for first time listeners: his punchlines are witty and his lyrics are very accessible, usually revolving around topical themes. Combining guttural basslines and slogan-style choruses, his sound is immediate and attention grabbing, but he’s also been in the game long enough to know a few tricks.
‘Konnichiwa’ is intelligently structured, pandering to his new audience by slowly sucking them into his personal surroundings. He gives detailed accounts of street life in London on Crime Riddim and dealing with success on Man, while he also subtly relays the history of grime and its contextual relevance with Corn on the Curb.
There are samples and phone conversations littered throughout that appear to have been designed to hook listeners into Skepta’s mindset and lifestyle, as well as introducing its themes and colloquialisms to foreign ears. These interludes aren’t quite grime slang for dummies, yet they do form a significant portion of the record.
It works to an extent - by the time the album reaches Shutdown and That’s Not Me, two pre-album singles and all-round bangers - Skepta’s overall persona is well ingrained. It also means that you don’t really notice the subtle jumps in quality from some of the filler tracks.
There is a distinct dip in the middle of the record and it’s mainly the American features that are to blame. Skepta’s imitation of an A$AP Ferg flow on It Ain’t Safe is fine – many grime artists tastefully borrow styles from southern trap – but his collaborations with Pharrell and A$AP Nast are out of place.
Numbers is littered with tacky vocal hooks that don’t remotely fit the tone of the record, while Skepta’s rhymes about sex (“I’m gonna hit the g-spot when I get the jeans off”) on Ladies Hit Squad are, oddly enough, given the same tough delivery as the rest of the record.
Luckily, the rest of ‘Konnichiwa’ is uncompromisingly English. Featuring Wiley, D Double E, JME and Jammer, the album often feels like Skepta’s tribute to his contemporaries for the work they’ve put in. Whether looking back at his teen years on posse cut Detox or chiding himself for poor decisions on That’s Not Me, Skepta is constantly reflecting on the past and rationalising his experiences so he can move forward.
Although it’s odd to hear it from Chip – who was seen as the whipping boy of the grime scene until quite recently – his comments about Skepta “getting the call to make people look at everything else” at the end of Corn on the Curb are the most profound on the whole record.
‘Konnichiwa’ works as a greeting to new international listeners, but it also feels like a celebration for those who have grown up with Skepta. Both veterans like Kano and newcomers like Stormzy could make their own cases against this, but ‘Konnichiwa’ is arguably the most significant representation of grime in 2016. Whether it turns out to be a springboard for everyone else remains to be seen.
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