Grime's premier artist Skepta returns with his fifth album after a three year absence. Since 2016, the Tottenham MC/producer has been seen in magazine shoots with supermodel Naomi Campbell; had a child; and enjoyed a worldwide profile boost following his collab with Harlem's A$AP Rocky. This album landed No 2 in the UK national charts thus showing he's as relevant as ever in UK's thriving 'urban' scene.
Ignorance Is Bliss kicks off in a similar fashion as his previous album Konnichiwa where on the opening track, he has a quick recap of his life since the last album. Since Reflecting in 2009, Skepta has never disappointed with these 'intro' type of tunes.
'Recently I been learning a lot
All I know is there's no better feeling
Than going home and seeing my little girl in the cot, so
This year we're done talking, forget the bagga chat, it's just action
Man are trolling to get a reaction
Everyday it's another distraction
Gotta fight temptation, can't get lost in the sauce...'
Skepta's albums have always had introspective content and this offering is no exception. From the music industry (the constant indirect shots at Wiley) to the dating scene ('Same old questions, what's your body count? Who were you linking before me?'), the consistent tone of IIB is Skepta venting his frustrations. Giving this is titled Ignorance Is Bliss, I can only assume that the BBK leader has endured some eye-opening events. Skepta seemingly indirects friend-turned-rival Wiley throughout. In addition to Bullet From A Gun, I'm convinced he also took shots on No Sleep and You Wish. The latter being a standout tune and more focussed.
'I don't know why this emcee tried to test me
I had to teach him a lesson
But it's like he weren't learning, fam
I just murked him, and I never needed a weapon
Said that you're a top boy, but I can't lie, fam, I can't see the progression'
As with previous albums, Skepta handles the production almost solely. He tries his hand at trap with Luton's Nafe Smallz (who could easily be mistaken for Young Adz) on Greaze Mode and the Oriental-influenced Redrum which features KEY! from Atlanta. The Far-East flava was present on No Sleep as well. Guess he was still in 'Konnichiwa mode' when he made them two beats.
Feature-wise I was expecting the link-up with J-Hus to be THE standout track of the album but to me, What Do You Mean? was disappointing. Although J Hus made the best out of a bad situation, I still weren't feelin' it. Nafe Smallz did his thing though as did BBK on Gangsta. From working with trap rappers like KEY! to doing commercial, EDM-type tunes (Love Me Not) as well as that traditional 'Skepta/ practice hours/BBK' sound, IIB was another showcase of Skepta's versatility. Problem is many of these songs don't have a great level of replay value and even more so if you compared it to Konnichiwa! which I still listen to.
Given this album is called Ignorance Is Bliss, Skepta probably won't wanna hear this. This definitely doesn't best Konnichiwa lyrically or sonically. Judging it on it's own, it's pretty decent but quite underwhelming. I'll give this a 6.5.
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