Track Reviews // Skepta - Ignorance is Bliss

First single from Ignorance is Bliss (Boy Better Know, 31^st May 2019)

First of two singles dropped prior to the release of Ignorance is Bliss at the end of the month, Bullet From a Gun sees Skepta at his contemplative best. The beat (co-produced with Ragz Originale) swoops and snaps like a melancholy trap house laptop start-up and the flow is somewhere between Method Man and Mobb Deep - bouncing effortlessly around syllables and then hammering each rhyme with battle rap clarity.

It’s an older and wiser Adenuga brother on display here – on album’s like Black Listed the in the feelings cuts felt like gaps in the track list, the playful simplicity out of whack with the heavy emotional material revealing the rappers age at the time. Between now and then the development is something to behold, he’s still bigging up his family, his ends and himself but Skepta’s flirtation with American hip hop and R&B has eased any awkwardness into a more pre-possessing confidence.

It’s been two years since Konnichiwa and Skepta’s been busy on and off mic, bringing through a new generation who he stops to shout out on Bullet From a Gun. Like on Still and Reflecting this is Skeppy setting out a stall for the project to come. It’s a mission statement that pulls back through roots and early success gaining speed through struggle, touring and new family members and connects to the jawside with intent: “This year we're done talking. Forget the bagga chat, it’s just action”.