He’s in this middle ground where he’s good, but the thing truly separating him from all the other good rappers is his accent. There’s definitely room for him between our coasts, I'll personally welcome him ashore, but I think he will have a hard time becoming the trailblazer that I initially thought he could become. This is the sound some think will finally break down borders? There aren’t too many moments where I heard a superstar performing. I feel like the first rapper to really cross over has to do it on a mainstream level, and at the same time I don’t hear enough depth and lyrical prowess to see Skepta connecting with the devout purists. As strikingly confident as it is unpredictable (check the night and day trap twin-pack that is Helicopters / Beware), The Chief mines everything from dancehall (Some Kind of Way) to Jidenna’s Nigerian ancestry (staff-raising battle-cry Long Live The Chief) to carve its unique speaker-toppling space. This is the best song off the album and might just be one of the best records of 2016. If Skepta catches on, this is the spark that lit the match. He custom-fitted his sound for the beat and it hits on every level. Too often I felt like he wasn’t working with the beat, trying to fit so many words into one bar he couldn’t really find a pocket. As for Skepta, this is his best work by far. I can hear Pusha T salivating over this one. The sleuthing atmosphere, the chest-denting bass and that cool breathy effect are layered perfectly. It's hard to believe this track was birthed by the same man who created “Happy.” I absolutely love it. Yo! This shit right here? The beat is fit as fuck.
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