Skepta: 'I'm what it looks like if you give an immigrant child a chance'

Published6 hours ago

One of the biggest names in grime is back - and he's picked his moment.

"Finally," Skepta promises BBC Newsbeat, "some good rap music, some good UK grime sounds."

The Fork and Knife has been a long time in the making. Seven years on from his last album, Ignorance Is Bliss, and more than two years since it was first teased, the rapper knows how to keep fans waiting.

But, as he's keen to point out, "you can't rush greatness".

And with a Mercury Prize, a Brit and two Ivor Novello Awards under his belt, greatness is no less than what fans expect from this titan of the rap scene.

It's taken so long in part because Skepta's got big issues in his sights, with the new album taking on everything from immigration and racism, to Brexit and culture wars.

"Every time I write a lyric, it's important for me," he says.

"It doesn't matter whose song, what feature, what track, I'm always taking time in writing my music because I want my lyrics to be able to stand the test of time."

Regarded as one of the pioneers of British grime music, he has gone on to draw enormous crowds at festivals like Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds - not to mention his millions of monthly listeners.

His 2009 track Reflecting, which charts his journey from a difficult childhood to becoming a successful musician, was a major turning point for him and grime, he says.

"I feel that was the first grime tune that was introspective and wasn't just about getting hype...

"That was the first time I thought, 'OK, cool, this is a talent of mine'.

"I'm able to speak my true emotion with no filter, no chorus.

"I could just spit my emotions on a track that I made and people will feel it for years to come."

Born and raised in Tottenham, north London, to Nigerian immigrant parents fleeing the country's civil war, Skepta, real name Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr, has long drawn on his early life in his music.

Dipping into multiple genres for his sixth album, he's set out to explore what it means to exist between cultures and how it's shaped him as an artist.

In Innocent Smile, his new track featuring Chase and Status and Madness frontman Suggs, he raps: "Ain't no love for an immigrant child / The writing's on the wall, has anyone else noticed? / Was it Brexit? Was it Covid? / They point fingers, I feel hopeless."

"I think grime is a product of immigration," he says, with some of the genre's biggest names and pioneers - like Wiley, Stormzy and Dizzee Rascal - all coming from similar backgrounds.

"That was important for me to represent what it looks like if you give an immigrant child a chance.

"I'm British and I thought before I even get into a campaign, I wanted to let my stance be known that I'm for multiculturalism."

'I'm here to set levels'

And while Skepta's been focused on the message, he has also been deliberate about how he's delivering it.

"It took six years to make this because it's important to make sure we're not tone deaf," he says.

He learned the value of that when, in 2024, he had to take down artwork for his single Gas Me Up (Diligent), following allegations that it referenced the Holocaust.

The image showed a group of men with shaved heads, one featuring a tattoo reading "Gas Me Up".

It had been a reference to skinhead culture, but Skepta acknowledged how without that context people could find it offensive and promised to be more mindful going forward.

Determined not to miss the mark this time around, he says: "I feel like we've delivered a classic."

Early reviews are mixed as to whether critics agree, however. While Complex said The Fork and Knife was "top-tier" and worth the wait, external, The Observer said it was well-intentioned but questioned whether it was "over-egged", external.

At a time when he thinks standards have been slipping though, striving for a classic is more important than ever.

"I don't think there's been a good grime album for a long time," Skepta says.

"And I'm here to set levels."

In September, Digga D called out the viral 'UK Poo' trend, which saw a wave of tracks blowing up on TikTok defined by what he described as "foolishness".

"I can't sit on here and be like 'I'm happy with how the UK scene is right now'," the rapper told 1Xtra's DJ Target. "Because I'm not."

Turns out Skepta isn't happy either.

Drawing on his idols, and even featuring some of them like Suggs, he says he is "here to make rap sophisticated again".

As BBC Radio 1Xtra launches the first UK rap chart show, he's hopeful more grime artists will be inspired to sharpen their pen game.

"Rap is a sport and it's very hard for visibility when we're being compared to people who have major machines behind them," he says.

"So this rap chart is going to give all the newcomers and a lot of people who are producing in their bedroom a chance to be seen and heard."

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

Related topics

Skepta

Grime

Music

Immigration

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