Beats: The Streets – Roof of Your Car

I remember the first time I heard The Streets.

I was about 15 and after holding it down as a paperboy (wasteman) for a hot minute I took a huge career leap forward by becoming a kitchen porter (chefs bitch). Even as a teen I was on my grind. Aside from the complimentary Cajun burger and curly fries one of the perks of the job was the musical selection from the chefs. Despite a misplaced sense of self-importance and regular outburst of chef rage, the guys I worked with had a pretty good taste in music.

So after hearing them bump Has it Come to This? for the first time, it was there in that greasy kitchen that it became clear Mike Skinner was something special. If only for lines like, ‘I do the science on my laptop and get my boys mashed up’.

In anticipation of the official release of Skinner’s fifth and final album Computers and Blues, the entire project has been made available to stream here.

Good news; it’s way better than the Cyberspace and Reds mixtape that dropped last week. If you’re partial to music that incorporates the services of UK grime MCs we already know badman Ed Sheeran’s got that covered.

I’m not gonna lie, my interest in The Streets dwindled after the first two albums but for some reason I’m into it this time round. Maybe the ‘Mike Skinner is killing The Streets’ hype worked on me. Whatever the reason, I’m listening.

One of the standout songs for me is Roof of Your Car. Mainly because of the infectious 00’s chipmunk hook but also because the title reminds me of these two crazy guys.

Quick heads up though, if you don’t like high-pitched vocal samples then opt for the opening track Outside Inside instead. If you’re also not too keen on looped up Garageband guitar riffs then you’re better off checking Trust Me. If you also don’t like hearing Skinner rap over a souped up incarnation of Modjo’s – Lady then, well, I would suggest you’re really restricting your musical palette a bit too much.

Listen to Roof of Your Car here. The album Computers and Blues is released Monday 7 February.