Woebot
Well-known member
Just heard his LP the other day, my boss frisbeed it onto my desk after i came in laden with grime twelves en route somewhere.
Listened to it straight through twice.
Its dominated by those samples from that film isnt it? Is that Kes? Mcvicar? I'm sure i ve seen it before myself, what a chilling picture of the law/borstal/prison? Also extremely evocative of another Britain, that of the late seventies early eighties, one of terrible desperation.
Is the underclass as fucked as it was back then? I know k-punk seems to think so. Part of me suspects that it isnt, that what we're witnessing rather is the "oppressed"/"working classes actually having a voice in Grime/records like Skinnymans that it didnt before. Sorry if this sounds patronising, i'm just a toff struggling to see whats outside my own window. I can't think of any potent angry working-class voices from that era off the top of my head. Punk is almost exclusively middle-class in content, any revolt is aimed at largely abstract targets, rather than making forthright denunciations of the horror of inner-city life.
Oi, the supposed working-class punk, seems more involved in plain rocking and rolling or in procuring gang joy. Shoot me down if you disagree.
The Skinnyman record is gorily articulate. Kind of unflinchingly bleak. You suspect that Skinnyman, and this may be incorrect/unkind, has had his fair share of involvement in making the streets as ugly as they are. We take this for for granted with US Rappers, one doesnt need much persuading to believe their background is as dicey and criminal as they let on, but its new in the UK, certainly new the way it bleeds into the music. SUAD for instance, you might suspect they were on the edges of criminal activity, but they never really delved into/explored it in their music. Same applies to all ardkore really, it was brushed slightly under the carpet, even if it was a large part of the rave economy. Skinnyman, though you feel he's moved into a pseudo-righteous position, is clearly at his least comfortable there, takes this high-ground quite squeamishly.
The most enticing thing about the record, the tunes are so-so, beyond the acerbicism and his undeniable charisma is the completely healthy disdain he has for the record industry and this one particular part of his own career (dodgy deals on the side MUST make up 3/4 of his income!). Hearing all the Grime-rs wishing that their music would "Get them out of here" a Wiley prays on Roll Deeps "Let it Out", you just know, god bless em, that its a fucking pointless fantasy. Maybe on or two may squeeze through, be able to make a career, use it to escape the ghetto, but for 99% of them, if they want a semi-decent lifestyle, they'd be better doing as Dogzilla says and get back to school. Go back to technical college, pick up some useful skills for goodness sake! Skinnyman, its obv to see, thinks British HipHop is a total joke, has absolutely no faith in rapping as a "career" and it just gives what he's saying a vital edge, an undeniable shade of darkness, menace and power.
Anyone else heard it?
Listened to it straight through twice.
Its dominated by those samples from that film isnt it? Is that Kes? Mcvicar? I'm sure i ve seen it before myself, what a chilling picture of the law/borstal/prison? Also extremely evocative of another Britain, that of the late seventies early eighties, one of terrible desperation.
Is the underclass as fucked as it was back then? I know k-punk seems to think so. Part of me suspects that it isnt, that what we're witnessing rather is the "oppressed"/"working classes actually having a voice in Grime/records like Skinnymans that it didnt before. Sorry if this sounds patronising, i'm just a toff struggling to see whats outside my own window. I can't think of any potent angry working-class voices from that era off the top of my head. Punk is almost exclusively middle-class in content, any revolt is aimed at largely abstract targets, rather than making forthright denunciations of the horror of inner-city life.
Oi, the supposed working-class punk, seems more involved in plain rocking and rolling or in procuring gang joy. Shoot me down if you disagree.
The Skinnyman record is gorily articulate. Kind of unflinchingly bleak. You suspect that Skinnyman, and this may be incorrect/unkind, has had his fair share of involvement in making the streets as ugly as they are. We take this for for granted with US Rappers, one doesnt need much persuading to believe their background is as dicey and criminal as they let on, but its new in the UK, certainly new the way it bleeds into the music. SUAD for instance, you might suspect they were on the edges of criminal activity, but they never really delved into/explored it in their music. Same applies to all ardkore really, it was brushed slightly under the carpet, even if it was a large part of the rave economy. Skinnyman, though you feel he's moved into a pseudo-righteous position, is clearly at his least comfortable there, takes this high-ground quite squeamishly.
The most enticing thing about the record, the tunes are so-so, beyond the acerbicism and his undeniable charisma is the completely healthy disdain he has for the record industry and this one particular part of his own career (dodgy deals on the side MUST make up 3/4 of his income!). Hearing all the Grime-rs wishing that their music would "Get them out of here" a Wiley prays on Roll Deeps "Let it Out", you just know, god bless em, that its a fucking pointless fantasy. Maybe on or two may squeeze through, be able to make a career, use it to escape the ghetto, but for 99% of them, if they want a semi-decent lifestyle, they'd be better doing as Dogzilla says and get back to school. Go back to technical college, pick up some useful skills for goodness sake! Skinnyman, its obv to see, thinks British HipHop is a total joke, has absolutely no faith in rapping as a "career" and it just gives what he's saying a vital edge, an undeniable shade of darkness, menace and power.
Anyone else heard it?