Beats: Skepta ft. Chipmunk ‘Big’

If you’re talking top tier UK Grime artists then it’s a given Skepta’s name will crop up. Repeatedly.

Just ask Diddy. Puff’s recent attempts at proving to himself that he still matters in hip-hop have seen him beg friends with a number of rappers. People like Jay Electronica, Wiz Khalifa, Drake and Rick Ross. In essence, he’s teamed up with rappers who have everything going for them. So pretty much the opposite of the modern day Diddy. Still, all the aforementioned gents have seemed happy enough to let the old man feel like he’s still welcome at the party. Sean Combs also hit up twitter a while back to find out which UK artist he should recruit to create a grime remix of his ‘Hello, Good Morning’ single. It was Joseph Junior Adenuga’s fans that shouted the loudest.

Skepta’s deft ability to handle both production and mic duties meant he didn’t disappoint in delivering a smasher of a remix. I’ve actually skanked out, laptop in hand, in my living room to this tune at 4am after a night out. Special drunken skank moments aside, the song never quite met Diddy Diddums’ lofty expectations of becoming the new ‘Pow’. But considering Lethal Bizzle fell short of such a goal with his own Pow 2011 remix, what chance have you got? Still, it was a great look for Skepta and a positive hypestone moment for the UK scene.

Let’s not get it twisted though, Diddy’s co-sign was merely a complimentary touch to Skepta’s already burgeoning reputation and consistent output. Skepta’s been putting in work for time. With his third album Doing it Again scheduled for release January 31 recent leaks have made it apparent that there’s going to be a lot more on offer than the handful of singles we’ve heard so far.

Skepta’s recruited Chipmunk for the dramatic and slow rolling Big, a dissection of fame that follows the cautionary saying ‘be careful what you wish for, it might just come true’. Skepta goes in on this song with some real talk. Some really real talk. For those who sit daydreaming about their problems disappearing the minute they ‘make it’, Skep comes through and dispels such misguided idealism by giving an insight into the loneliness that comes with everyone knowing who you are.

Stand out lines come in the form of; ‘She thinks if she talks to me, they’ll call her a groupie behind her back’ and ‘They say why work all this time to get famous Joseph, just to have to wear sunglasses cos you don’t wanna get noticed?’. These bars tackle the delicate contradiction between the common desires of young men who yearn for fame so they can have women at their disposal and the recognition of their peers with the reality of what happens when you reach your desired destination. Deeeeeep bruv.

If you would like to hear more music on this subject then, er, check out some guy called Kanye West. I’ve heard his new album does a pretty good job of shining a light in that direction.

Check out Big below and watch for Doing it Again when it drops at the end of the month.