Eigen RadarArts
Archive
Analysis

Skepta returns after seven years with The Fork and Knife

British rapper Skepta has released his sixth album, The Fork and Knife, following 2019’s Ignorance Is Bliss. The Tottenham musician draws on his upbringing in a Nigerian immigrant family to address identity, racism and cultural division. Innocent Smile brings Chase and Status together with Madness singer Suggs.

Arts··Evening
Overhead view of a vocal recording booth with a microphone, circular pop filter and headphones on a stool, illustrating the rap recording behind Skepta’s new album.

The album follows Ignorance Is Bliss

British rapper Skepta released The Fork and Knife on November 6, ending a seven-year gap between solo albums. The new release follows Ignorance Is Bliss, which appeared in 2019.[1], [2]

This is his sixth album, first teased more than two years earlier. Born Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr, he grew up in Tottenham in north London with Nigerian immigrant parents. His new songs address immigration, racism, Brexit and cultural divisions, drawing on his experience of living between cultures.[1]

Innocent Smile brings musicians together

Innocent Smile features Chase and Status and Suggs, the singer from British band Madness. The song includes the exclusion experienced by an immigrant child. Skepta says he wants to make his support for multiculturalism clear and regards immigration as important to grime, the British rap style in which he built his career.[1]

Reflecting marked a change in his writing

He identifies his 2009 track Reflecting as a turning point: it let him express personal emotions over music he made without using a chorus. Skepta says he gives time to lyrics even when appearing on other musicians’ songs. He performed at Reading and Leeds this year; his honours include the Mercury Prize, a Brit and two Ivor Novello Awards.[1]

For more information on this topic, you can read the related columns.

References

  1. News sourceBBC NewsSkepta ends a seven-year album gap with The Fork and Knife↩1↩2↩3↩4
  2. News sourceNeon MusicSkepta Releases The Fork and Knife, His First Solo Album in Seven Years↩

More analysis from this desk

View all Brief analyses from the Arts desk →