UK rap icon Skepta returns with his latest album, ‘The Fork and Knife’, featuring Project Pat, Central Cee and more
After a forgettable feud with Joyner Lucas, Skepta (Joseph Adenuga Jr.) releases his long-awaited new album, The Fork and Knife. His latest 15-track project includes recent classics and also features appearances by Central Cee, Jorja Smith and hip-hop cult favourite Project Pat, among others.
Review: A Medley of Sounds
Skepta maintains solid respect in the UK, yet the rest of the genre’s persistence in seeking global appeal can manufacture its own ruination. UK rap is comfortable within itself, and its unique sound is the result of its own demands.
On The Fork and Knife, Skepta’s vocal style remains consistently recognisable through the experiment of a wide trough of sounds and impresses varying tastes. This time, the rapper taps into UK rave and British sound system culture, yet the album’s more important message concerns the cultural estrangement many people of colour live with in the UK. Skepta slides into a barrelling sequence of bars with a sense of urgency and impact, and on his own projects, he performs his best.
This urgency also carries through on works which call for a return to a more traditional hip-hop tone. On “Cold Shower”, he partners with cult hero Project Pat in a surprising collaboration, despite their earlier link-up on “Lane Switcha” for the Fast & Furious 9 soundtrack.
The rapper spares no expense on “Currency” as he maxes out his radar chart with a nuance to his flow and recalls his mum’s reaction to a GQ dinner. On “Pandora’s Box”, he tells the story of a friend whose addiction left him feeling dejected and wayward. Skepta and David Dyson’s production is neatly stitched into each bar, showing the advantage of crafting beats alongside the pen.
His sense of melancholy does not stop there. On “Revenge”, the lyricist reflects on a time when he doubted his own abilities, something that changes when word reaches him that Virgil Abloh has been playing grime music in Paris.
Adenuga Jr. then returns to the intensity he’s traded on for years. It runs through “Magic”, “Gas Me Up (Diligent)” and “Melody” and later shifts on “Aloe Vera”, an upbeat track where Asake switches between languages in a stellar delivery. “Chippie” follows with a similarly playful ambience and tuneful sentiment.
Jorja Smith’s appearance on “Broken Hearts” gives the project a different atmosphere, as her recognisable vocals soften the ground for Skepta and Central Cee to work in tandem. Cench works well alongside the Boy Better Know rapper, shaking off his usual rigid, familiar flow.
Arguably, the surprise feature is Suggs. Yes, “Our House” Suggs. The 1980s last-call favourite joins Skepta and Chase & Status on “Innocent Smile”, where the four tackle the hateful rhetoric prevalent in British society. Skepta takes aim at politicians who lack the backbone to stand up for and protect marginalised communities, particularly immigrants and their children.
The cherry on the cake is “Belly”, a posse cut featuring Frisco, Bossman Birdie, Kibo, Mayhem NODB, Skepta’s brother Jme, Kruz Leone and Queenie. At eight minutes and 49 seconds, its furious flows and compounding intensity epitomise the echo of an album with purpose. The widely praised “Victory Lap” follows, a track that needs no introduction or breakdown.
The Verdict
The Fork and Knife is a commendable release, one that traces the facets of each cut and the musical predilections of segmented audiences. This gives each work a chance to make its mark, and though it runs thin in places, it does cater to a specificity that will impress many. Skepta’s latest drop breaches the expanse of what one could expect of the UK rapper, but it’s on the event horizon, not in a black hole.
Full Tracklist
- Secrets of Patriarchy
- Outside
- Cold Shower
- Currency
- Pandora’s Box
- Revenge
- Magic
- Gas Me Up (Diligent)
- Melody
- Aloe Vera
- Chippie
- Broken Hearts
- Innocent Smile
- Belly
- Victory Lap
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