Reviews (page 3 of 9)
An album made by a man who hates women. Also one Direction ripped off fit but you know it. Why do men only like women with poor self esteem? Oh wait…. This man also has no talent, genuinely difficult to listen to. The mix feels like a first attempt of a high schooler making music in his basement
1.5 - Bad
Aggressively british
Always loved this. I still dont think its as good as Original Pirate Material but its seriously good.
I quite enjoyed this. The storytelling was fun and some of the tracks are good, but I was surprised by how clumsy and ugly a lot of the rhymes and rhythms are. I guess that's deliberate at least to some extent, but it doesn't work for me. Kae Tempest does similar things a lot better, reflecting real lives and patterns of speech while being poetic and musical.
Blinded by the lights really took me back to those days of being fucked in the club concept is so strong, that was great
Not somgs
Pathetic- supposed to be hip hop but the guy has absolutely zero flow.
A little cheesy but an essential British rapper
Low key enjoyed it. Is it this bad? An English bloke miserably lost £1000 in 2004 and made an album out of it. Isn’t it entertaining…
this was rather rough to listen to. didn't particularly enjoy it as a whole. lyrics were kind of funny, but everything else was grating.
What on earth have I just listened to? Everyone knows some wannabe local rapper that sounds exactly like this but you slap a “rap-opera” label on the album and somehow it’s significant? No clue how this makes the list. I’m giving it a two for comedic value.
This dudes flow is sus. He has no riz. Anti-aura. This album is more cringe than this review. No cap.
Album explosé contre un bus. J'ai du mal à savoir si c'est un troll complet ou un projet serieux tellement certains sons sont éclatés. 1er degré certains titres sont signés Legacy Beats ou quoi ? Entre les boucles sonores repetitives, les exactes même sonorités durant tout le projet, et une technique de rap effrayante, l'album est a certains moments vraiment lourds à écouter, avec seulement de très rares morceaux qui marchent à peu près bien comme "Dry your tears". Sinon, l'album n'est qu'une suite de sons qui se ressemblent tous dans leur médiocrité la plus ennuyante.
Great album, and this means Original Pirate Material to look forward to.
Meh!
The Streets are very evocative of the early 2000s for me and this album perfectly refines the magic that was already apparent on Original Pirate Material. The continuing narrative throughout the album is daft at times (see eventual location of Mr Skinner’s grand) but works well. The singles, especially Dry Your Eyes out are the stars, but the rest of the tracks dont feel out of place in their company.
I disliked The Streets when I first heard them - and time has not been kind to my opinion. I always hated “the hits”, but some of it wasn’t too bad and actually was quite catchy. I’m not sure I’ve ever gelled with Mike Skinner’s lyrics generally though, which is a major problem.
99% of the time, Mike Skinner has an objectively terrible singing voice. And he can't rap particularly well. And frequently the beats he uses aren't particularly interesting because they're pretty simple and repetitive. This is one of those bizarre things about music though: I don't care about any of that when it comes to The Streets. I can't justify it, I just get sort of dragged along with the narrative and enjoy the ride. I am so, so curious to know if the average non-Brit listening to this in 2026 understands more than about 50% of the lyrics. The accent and slang combined make this almost impenetrably English. Like "introduce it up your jacksie" must be baffling! I enjoyed all of it, even the bits that are objectively shite. 4/5
If I sat down and tried to imagine the most annoying hang possible, he would probably end up being pretty similar to the narrator of these songs
new wave 80s. not my vibe but certainly someones out there
Great album - love the story telling running through - every track decent, 3-4 classics.
I liked the tone of the fella's voice
What a bizarre album, in both a good and not-so-great way. I'm not sure I entirely get why this was so mind-blowing to so many music critics, and I'm also not sure I'd describe this as a "rap opera", but either way it's a pretty unique style and sound and album. It feels like listening to some weird mashup of "Trainspotting" and a failed Eminem-wannabe white "rapper", and at times Mike Skinner's (and several other collaborators') absolute lack of rapping/hip-hop skill is maddeningly distracting and unpleasant, but some tracks are thankfully trending towards music (like the pairing of "Blinded by the lights" and "Wouldn't have it any other way", as well as "Dry your eyes"), which helps redeem it some. And despite all the failings and weirdness, it's easy to get caught up with the storyline and find yourself hoping that Skinner's character can find a way to beat the odds and rescue his lost £1,000 as well as his direction in life (in other words, the happier ending in "Empty cans"). (And in case you find your mind wandering mid-script, the Wikipedia entry has a great (and concise) breakdown of the main plot points in each track.)
it felt more spoken word than music to me but I enjoyed hearing the rants, knowing too that I don't think I'll listen again
not for me
It Was Supposed to Be So Easy 2.8 Could Well Be In 1.6 Not Addicted 1.7 Blinded by the Lights 1.7 Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way 2 Get Out of My House 1.4 Fit but You Know It 2.4 Such a Twat 2 What Is He Thinking 2 Dry Your Eyes 1.7 Empty Cans 2 Score: 1.936363636
Well this is obviously too British. Extremely repetitive and very little substance, but I was intrigued for a half song so it stays out of the basement
I don't get why this is on the list and generally popular. Any arsehole can talk over basic backing tracks pretending to be a scum bag. Sure, you can make some statement about how pop songs focus on celebrity and fail to connect with the daily lives of their audience, but you can make that statement in a talented way (see large swaths of country, rock, blues, etc.) Fit but you know it and Dry Your Eyes are decent, but like once in a blue moon. Britain should sink into the ocean.
Nope, not for me
Nýbúið að announca the streets á Airwaves 26' Ég fílaði þessa plötu mjög vel þegar hún kom fyrst. Hrátt og ljótt, en hann er með skemmtilegar pælingar og propa breskur geezer. Dry your eyes er fallegt lag. Eldist ekki alveg eins vel og ég hélt.
Ég var að fíla þetta. Er algjör sökker fyrir rough around the edges geezerum. Hrá fegurð.
not the heights of OPM but still very very good
OPM is better, this is still brilliant. Have always loved the storytelling
I get why most people hate this, but I think it's relatively cool. Great production. 3.5/5
Rap, 2004 -> 1
British people should not be allowed to rap
My wife said there was a good song on this one, but I didn't really want to go back and check again
When this album started I immediately had a memory spring into my mind from college of this song my roommate and I were *obsessed* with. I hadn't thought about the song in years and it took me a beat to even remember the name. When I finally remembered, I realized it was on this album! "Dry Your Eyes" is a very lovely song with a nice beat and good emotions elicited. For the album as a whole, I enjoyed the lead singer's London rap style (I'm a sucker for a British accent, okay?). The operatic nature of the album telling a story was cringey to me because it was so melodramatic -- boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy fights with girl, boy cheats on girl, girl cheats on boy?!!?!, turns out it was with boys FRIEND?!!?!!!?!, boy and girl break up, boy sees hope. Luckily for us, we got a beautiful breakup song with all the good feels in Dry Your Eyes, but the rest of the songs weren't really for me.
I made it to the end...torturous. 1 "was actually fewer" stars. Just horrid, banal, should not be on this list. (I am now listening to the Mountain Goats "Beautiful Rat Sunset" to wash out the aftertaste of The(se) Streets.)
Terrible flow, terrible hooks, terrible album
It Was Supposed to Be so Easy // Blinded by the Lights // Fit but You Know It // Dry Your Eyes //
🙂 I enjoyed it, good storytelling-I’ll never listen to it again
Lots of the songs on their own aren't good but they're a fun listen and I like the concept of the album. Should've gone with Original Pirate Material, a vastly superior album
Piti hetken, kun tässä ratsastellaan kolmosen ja kakkosen rajamaastossa. Jossain vaiheessa toi brittiaksentti kuulosti hyvältä, mut lopulta biisien tylsyys vei voiton ja kakkoseen
Huhhuh, tää oli ehkä paskin tähän asti, eihän tätä pysty edes kuuntelemaan. Jotenki aksentti oli vitutuksen kirsikka kakun päällä. Yyyhghh
Onpa kyllä melkosta kuraa, ei saatana.
Tässon kyl flowt viety vähän uusiin sfääreihin. Ei siinä, sopii kai tämmöseen katubrittijurtaanin tykittelyyn. Osa biiseistä ei lähe kyl yhtään ja jää vaisuiks sekä jutuilta että taustoilta. Sit taas varsinkin loppua kohden löytyy hyvää menoo ja fit but you know it on vähän kun parklife revisited. Kiitämme ja paheksumme tutulla arvosanalla.
No ei oikein lähteny. Ehkä vähän väärä paikka oli kuunnella, kun töiden lomassa luukutin niin jäi vähän sanoma puolitiehen. Sinänsä ihan hyvän kuuloista brittiräppiä, mutta olis varmaan vaatinut ihan keskittymistä. Ei kuitenkaan taustamusana innostanut niin paljoa että olisin viitsinyt kuunnella uudestaan rauhassa kotona.
That was foul, mate.
Definitely not my alley
More painful than listening to a voice text
Why would this be something to listen to before you die?? Who is frothing at the mouth over fucking British white guy rap.
esto no puede ser real. Not addiceted mejoró. interesante, me gustó´JAJJA. Het out of my house me encanta como hablan (son británicos) jajaja, el man ya la embarro. Ya mk
Yet another unwanted unwarranted addition to the list of 1001 albums
Some of the storytelling was solid, but otherwise this was bad and hard to listen to.
Its taking itself way too seriously, I love the storytelling and versus but the hook on EVERY song is in a fight with everything in the rest of the song. I think its just not my cup of tea although I like rap this didnt sit right for some reason
Listen, if it's on purpose (by all accounts it is), I can kinda understand and respect the effort. Artists are usually odd and unusual, and I really don't mind expressing the storytelling through an unorthodox and purposley "mismatched" musical style. With that said, it just wasn't fun to listen to, to an extreme extent mind you. This would probably do well on YouTube in the early 2010s, especially if clearly communicated in a comedic fashion. I'll say that Fit but You Know It was almost kinda fun, while Dry Your Eyes was coherently composed enough to actually translate the message and emotions of the lyrics correctly. This whole thing is weird, but not in a good way; respect to the artist for trying something liket his, but I simply do not like it, even if the lyricism and storytelling are poignant (in their own down to Earth way). Yet... It's certainly a fascinating, different thing, that provoked genuine discussion and bewilderment.
My original review for this was a long winded review about how trash this album is. I handily gave it a 1/5 at the time of scoring. But the album has persisted in my mind for weeks now. I've become obsessive over it. How does it not work, but work so much? Why is it appealing to me from the depths of the first impression it left upon me? Why am I still talking about it with my group? Is this what art is? I regularly come back to it to cleanse my palate like a bitter drink paired with a rich dinner. After all, you need some bitterness to enjoy the sweet things. It managed to crawl out of the most rotten 1/5 I've given so far to at least this rating, and I can't even promise it won't go up even more. Baby steps I guess. I still feel like the enunciation is forced, the accent doesn't work, the vocals sit on top of the music instead of it all working together, none of which is supposed to happen with hip hop but even with all that i'm still left wondering every time I start this album: Where did he leave his £1000?
Come oooooonnn, man. All the classic hip hop albums, all the legendary artists not represented on this list, and we get this? British rap is already so bad, but WHITE British rap that sounds neutered for radio play? Just shit. Man has negative flow. Every song, the same staccato rhymes. EV. RY. SY. LA. BLE. IS. ONE. BEAT. Exhausting to listen to very quickly. I don’t even hate some of the production, some of the choruses, which he’s pretty much never on, so I lift it above a one star. But it’s close.
Dreck. Gibt einen guten Grund, warum ich in meiner Jugend 40 Jahre alte Musik gehört habe.
Ein guter Song - der Rest war nicht sehr catchy...
Why do the British rap? Leave it to the professionals
The layered vocals that are hilariously terrible, the rapping that at times doesn’t know what rhythm is, the lyrics which are pathetically bad; it all adds up to an album that should be added to 1001 albums you must hear before you die🙄 Do you know how elderly people have been known to pass away after waiting for their family to assemble near their bedside when sick, or right after their spouse dies? The question is how does someone seem to will themselves to die. Well now I know. When I listen to this, I actively want to die as quickly as possible. I’m younger and still have a will to live, but repeated listenings to this would solve the will to live part.
Pretty unique as far as Hip-Hop goes. I can't say I liked it very much, though. I did enjoy The Streets' previous album Original Pirate Material much more. Maybe that should have made it in instead. Key tracks: It Was Supposed to Be So Easy Dry Your Eyes
I think if you're wanging on about flow you are kind of missing the point with The Streets. Not that I love this album. Fit But You Know It - perish the thought a young woman have self esteem :D But the ordinariness of it all is kind of engaging and I like how basic the production is but sometimes with rhythms that aren't obvious.
JAJJJAJJAJS que es esto parce, está muy chimba, me quedé esperando a que cantaran más que hablar las canciones un poco pero la vdd tampoco me pareció mal al final, de buena que si se ganó mucho mi atención, y hubo unos temas que me re encantaron, que buen álbum
*scratches head* I did not know this album. It has all the edge of a rap album produced, somehow, by a semi-precocious suburban 14-year-old. Nowhere near essential. Nowhere.
back to poorly aged turn of the millinum albums that are only popular for a certain time period. but were still gonna listan anyway!
Favorite Track: Blinded by the Lights
I never got the streets
Still not certain they're not a joke. Really bad at some points, then occasionally moments of brilliance?
Holy shit, this is awful...
This is a unique album, and perhaps the most British sounding hip hop record. Seemed more like someone telling me a story backed by music than actual rap, but it kinda grew on me. Highlights: "Blinded by the Lights" and "Empty Cans"
115. a crime that its on the list. i wish i could give it a zero.
"Must Hear Album" my ass... This was the most painfully British shit I've ever had the displeasure of listening to. I want my 50 minutes back. Awful bars, awful flow, such a nothingburger of a "story", mostly boring instrumentals but some of the strings were nice. Standouts: N/A. 0/5
I’ve always loved The Streets, they’re one of the defining sounds of my youth. When A Grand Don’t Come for Free came up today, I even had to check whether I’d already had Original Pirate Material in the last 800+ albums… surprisingly, I haven’t. It must be coming soon. This is a really solid album, but for me it still sits just behind Original Pirate Material. I was surprised to see how many low ratings it gets. Maybe it’s because it’s so British and so rooted in a very specific time and place. For me, that’s exactly what makes it work. The beats are catchy, the storytelling is sharp, and the whole thing plays out like a proper narrative. It captures everyday life in a very South London way, which gives it a lot of charm and authenticity. It might not be for everyone, but I think there’s a lot to enjoy here. Favourite tracks: Fit But You Know It has always been a favourite. Blinded by the Lights and Dry Your Eyes are proper standout moments as well. Least favourite tracks: What Is He Thinking? and Such a Twat don’t really land for me and feel like weaker points on the album. Album artwork: Love the cover, it fits the tone of the album perfectly.
Tedious as hell. Did not enjoy.
I really didn't like a lot of the vocals on here from a "technical" perspective (some really thin, some really strained) but I found the entire album overall really fun. I keep saying "fun" in this project because it's my go-to word for "I enjoyed this and don't really have other thoughts" but here I mean genuinely I thought it was playful to have a variety of kind of sing-songy songs about a pretty low-stakes day. I found its oddness charming.
Lmao, hilariously awful. What were they thinking?! I obviously have a bias towards UK rap, and I find it hard to tell if it's because I like bri'ish accent, or I like bri'ish accent because I like bri'ish rap, but whatever it is, it's not saving this album Somewhere in the middle of Get Out of My House a twitch stream started playing in my other tab and I genuinely thought it was part of the album. The dude rambling there had the same flow What Is He Thinking? was good
I've heard one song of theirs before and I thought it was nice. This isn't music. This is something you end up recording as a gag after a night of drinking.
Madness inducing. I could only laugh through the pain.
British people are NOT real and you cannot convince me otherwise.
This is the worst album we ve gotten yet
Just sounds like a guy in a pub ranting
Never understood the hype, personally.
When this was released it was such a disappointment. There are some fun tracks on it, but the album and EPs that went before were so very much better. There used to be attitude and passion and wit, but this album seemed like that had all been watered down and all the good stuff left behind. It was hugely popular though, somewhat adding to the annoyance.
a couple of ok tracks but pretty dire otherwise
One of the few times I've been lost for words while writing a review. That first song, It Was Supposed to Be so Easy... what the heck? Who thought recording this was a good idea? Especially those dastardly vocals? The brass section is okay but feels bizarre when paired with the lyrics, which consist of some upper-middle-class kid complaining about losing a thousand pounds. Could Well Be In is better, though at this point I had begun to tune out Skinner's vocal part, which could definitely be a factor. Also, the chosen piano line is pretty satisfying and smooth. Same with Blinded by the Lights (The Weeknd did it better): the synths are a cool little nod to space-crazed 70s/80s rock, and the female vocal hook is pretty strong too. (In contrast, Get Out Of My House has terrible secondary vocals.) Fit but You Know It is great – very punky – It's perhaps a stretch to call this Skinner guy a rapper. During the melody-less sections (generally, the verses), it becomes clear that he has zero understanding of stress patterns, enunciating every syllable like the two of them have a personal grudge. Skinner's accent is also pretty heavy here, which I think reflects a bigger problem with rap in general: when you speak without singing, most (or all) of your accent-upbringing comes through. And when it's thickly south-British, it gets kind of distracting. What about the singing parts, the sections that have some melodic contribution? My judgement: incredibly messy. Like, as messy as you can get. I'm pretty sure he chose to use multi-track recording against his own voice to create the impression that he has friends who are singing/rapping along in agreement. But with all due respect, Skinny Boy, I don't think that's the case. 1/5 Key tracks: Could Well Be In, Fit but You Know It, Dry Your Eyes
's a bit rubbish, innit?
Didn't really like this, it's just like slam poetry with background music
I couldn't quite pin this album down. At times it felt like parody and sounded like something I'd hear in an early 2000s flash animation. At other times there were moments where I could tell it was genuine and wasn't too bad. If it is a parody it isn't a very good one. Overall I think the bad greatly outweighs the good this is another album for the "Why is this on this list?" folder and a 1.5/5 rounded down to a 1
Oh hell nah…why on gods green earth would anyone want or need to hear this?? Complete dogshit. British people shouldn’t be allowed to rap.
I've never been able to get into these narrative concept albums, and this one, with its odd off-meter rapping, was a hard listen.
It should stay in the streets.
Not the best rapper but a entertaining “concept” album
3.5/5 - while I dont love the rap style it was an enjoyable listen that if I were to find on rotation more frequently I would deepen my enjoyment of the album
Alltså kudos för försöket, men i slutändan var det bara Could Well Be In och framförallt Dry Your Eyes som var bra. Men fler konceptalbum åt folket!
This was a fun experience. I was repulsed when the first track started and thought this was going to be terrible. However, it turned out to be really interesting, with some beautiful musical moments and introspective lyrics. Most of the beats are quite good as well. On my second listen and I'm definitely a fan.
I get what they were going for with this Garage Rap Opera thing, trying to make everyday stuff sound super dramatic, like losing cash or a breakup. But, honestly, it's a mess. Skinner's rapping is all over the place, like he's tripping over his own feet. It's more like someone reading a story than actually rapping. The whole album feels like a bit of a flat. Some people might dig the real feel, but to me, it's just annoying vocals. I can't get past how bad the flow is, no matter how good the story is. It's a piece of history, sure, but as music? Ugh, tough listen.
I fuck with this hard.
After 911 albums, I’ve finally felt compelled to write a review. It’s to write the following: There is not a single redeeming sliver in this album. It’s like listening to an annoying co-worker who won’t leave you alone. With every passing second, you feel your blood pressure rising with aggravation. It is an unmitigated steaming pile of crap.
This is a tough one. I was strangely drawn into the antics of Simone, Dan, Scott and Mike. Is it a testament to the banality of my own life that I find a tale of someone attempting and failing to return a DVD engaging? Maybe I should I be roaching some more spliffs myself? Anyway, this album is awful.
It was interesting but I think this is one of those UK specials where "you had to be there" or something
Can’t get past the corny flows and voice
если бы я записала рэп альбом
April Fool's Day is tomorrow. You're a day early with this one, Dimery.
This was both boring and unnerving, if that makes any sense. But the record doesn't, either.
This feels like how we ended up with Ren emanating 20 years later. It's engaging in spots but the rapping lacks diversity and the mix is a bit puny sounding. It's experimental for the time. It isn't hard road man drill stuff. It isn't like anything else at the time. Points for the effort but it wasn't for me.
I was excited to hear that it was hip hop at first, and then it got to the chorus of the first song. It’s like someone’s little brother got hold of their sound mixing equipment.
Ugh this was awful. I hated every second. It feels like a joke. I couldn't get past the 5th song. 1/10
Overrated. Dry your eyes is a great though.
This was one of the worst things I’ve ever subjected my ears to. During the first track, I thought “Okay, this is pretty bad but the whole album can’t be like this.” Boy, was I wrong. I don’t even know what was happening, but I know I hated it. I think there were maybe three tracks where we hear the ‘protagonist’ going on and on about his TV not working? That is some riveting source material. Maybe it was satire, but it still didn’t need to suck that bad.
I like it . The British Eminem? Nah this is head and shoulders above that Detroit poseur. Mike Skinner's a good bloke standing against a lamp post, gladly giving you an extra cigarette. Eminem is the sound of a closeted homosexual punching drywall.
Classic
What a load of crap. I really don't feel like writing another comment about this. 1/5
Nope. Nope. Nope. Not for me. Can't rap, can't sing, didn't even have any damn clever lines or impressive music to redeem this. I'm a fan of some seriously sloppy music, so I'm not saying people with less than amazing skills shouldn't make music, but this felt like deliberately half-assed mediocrity from start to finish.
If you're British and a certain age this album is full of totally familiar, perfectly crafted scenarios and people. It's all about the lyrics, the beats are mostly just carriers, and that's exactly what's needed. Brilliant stuff. Americans probably hate this one.
Bloody love this album...
Incredible off kilter poetic strangely beautiful hilarious album from a hungover stoned British man. Well done bloke. Wa'a bo'oh
Hadn't previously heard much from these guys other than 'Could Well Be In' and 'Dry Your Eyes', which I liked. After listening, I also liked 'Empty Cans' and those three songs would've been a tight EP, but "Oliver Twist spoken word over 00's beats" couldn't really carry a whole album.
I wanted to like it, but I couldn't. It's not quite "Give up the slot" bad, but it's just not compelling or capable of sustaining my interest either — despite my hope that it might.
The emperor has no clothes. Anyone claiming to enjoy this needs serious help. Total toilet.
more entertaining than I expected
Abysmal
English Beastie Boys...?
Oh no no no. Who told this bloke we want this?
This was different but I loved it! Great beats & awesome stories & flow too! I'm starting really enjoy hip hop from England.
Pretty ridiculous album. Accent and lack of flow ruins it for me. But it was so absurd that I couldn’t help but laugh through it
This is a truly brilliant portrait of early 00s Britain that gets across a damp and pathetic image of bleak youth culture in a painfully accurate way. Not all the songs slap sonically, but they are all really hilarious and I was giggling my way through the whole thing.
Genuinely about as accurate a portrait of English masculinity as you’re ever gonna hear, in all its bleakness and emptiness and stupidity and silliness. When you engage with this on those terms it’s kind of a masterpiece!
Aggressively British. I learned a few things from this album: Simone is a slag, Dan can get proper fucked, and Mike is misfortunate. Is it good music? No. Is it entertaining? Yea somewhat. It’s kind of less rap and more a really British guy telling a story. 6/10
“Fit but you know it” is an iconic song that brings back so much nostalgia for me. However, I find the rest of the album a bit slow. It’s kind of funny story telling but couldn’t keep me super engaged.
Love this album! 5/5
I won’t ding it for the heavy accent but I will for the lack of rhythm, the unimaginative beats and the lame lyrics. This album had one song I didn’t detest.
Wtf was that?
Ali G bars. Each track was funnier than the last. I'd give it a six if I could.
Oof
I love the storytelling in this, but absolutely hate the flow. I blame growing up in Atlanta for that. Still worth listening to.
From the Vault #4 (February 24, 2026) Back once again with the pre-written review. It feels weird opening with this line every other day like there's been some long period of absence between writing these reviews, but it'll all make sense once I begin to roll these albums on the list. I've never heard of this album or artist before. Going off of the cover, it looks like we have yet another White guy hip-hop album on our hands. I do kind of dig this album art. The colours are pretty good - I've always liked the nocturnal colour palette with the blacks and oranges and what have you. For having an artsy album cover, I'm going to refrain from guessing that this album will be a trashy, landfill hip-hop album, though I've no clue what this could otherwise be. Maybe an electronic hip-hop album - something which follows in the steps of trip hop? Oh my fucking God. What the fuck is this? I had hope in you, Mr. Streets. I, thankfully, don't need to write all that much for this section as this album is incredibly minimal. Most of the backing tracks are just one instrument being looped over and over again, and the vocal deliveries are more or less the same across each track. I will say that this album is incredibly effective for what it is despite working with such limitations. I was kind of bored for much of the runtime, but there was never really a period where my attention span fell off a cliff (except, maybe, on that eight-minute closer). I also felt that most of these songs were a minute longer than they needed to be, but I can tolerate idly sitting around for 60 seconds. Overall, a harmless album, but one which doesn't resonate with me all that much. I've heard "Fit but You Know It", funnily enough. My Dad played it in his car for me once and wanted to know my opinion on the lyrics. I thought the song was shit, but I didn't have the heart to tell him, so I said I liked the way the narrative was presented. Between Ian Dury's "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" and now this song, it seems the audience for weird tacky British music is, in fact, my Dad (all of this is in spite of the fact that he's from New Zealand). Anyways, it's one of the better songs of the album. The instrumental is still minimal, though the electric guitar loop gives the song a decent level of energy. It pairs nicely with the punchy, stressed syllables of the song, and the chorus has a good ring to it. The song does kind of drag on for much longer than it needed to, but I appreciate how the instrumentals and verses progressively unfurled as the singer became more wasted. Book time. "Half of hip hop is built on bitching ... But few have ever commiserated as cleverly as Mike Skinner about the common, everyday stuff that really gets you down." His debut album was nominated for a BRIT award and the Mercury Prize. Mike Skinner has a unique persona within hip-hop. Concept album which "...follows a full story arc through minor, yet dramatic, conflicts..." The production is "...sparse and steady". That's one way to describe it. Wikipedia says this album had two very successful singles in the UK and was warmly received by critics. It charted across Europe and the West and was the 13th best-selling album of 2004 in the UK. For a second I thought this would be yet another national act, though in his defence this guy is decently prolific. I suppose I'm favourable to this album, which is probably hypocritical of me given that I snubbed "Boy in Da Corner" by Dizzee Rascal despite being functionally the same release. I think the operatic, narrative-driven nature of this album is kind of cool. It also isn't a fucking hour long, which is venerable as far as these hip-hop albums are concerned. I cosign this inclusion. ================== Ah, A Grand Don't Come For Free. I wrote my review for this album on the same day that I listened to "Casanova" by the Divine Comedy, which I've been listening to quite a bit in the time since then. I made the same point in my review of that album, but I'll make it here, too. It's kind of heartening to find some weird British shit of my own on the same day that I listened to some weird British shit of my father's. It sure is good to reminisce about two weeks ago, but that isn't why I'm here. I remember reading somewhere not long after writing this review that the B-sides from this album are actually integrated into the main narrative, taking place between some of the tracks on here. Apparently this album also has a good and bad ending, though by that point I had more or less checked out of this album. Also interesting. Honestly, I do kind of admire the consistency of this story, even if it is kind of air-headed. There's a meticulousness to this album which resonates with how I approach art and my life. For that reason, I've marked this album down in the back of my mind as one I should revisit, though evidently not within the span of two weeks. I shall return to it, however. Mark my words.
I love the first two Streets albums! (And I think I sort of like the next two as well.) It’s kind of interesting how technologically irrelevant everything in this story is now. This is like a cool and entertaining historical document.
I had this guy's first album as Weak Become Heroes was everywhere when I lived in Brighton for a year, but hadn't heard this one. Some of the tracks are pretty good, and I always appreciate Skinner's unique British approach to rap. He's terrible at choruses though, his effort in several tracks to sing these choruses is painful. The beats are often good though, more often than not. Certain The Streets were a good band at the time, in mid-2000s when most radio rap was pretty trash. But I don't know that it really holds up super well as an album overall, despite the fact that I like concept rap albums like this in general. Tracks like Get Out of My House are just annoying, both in beat and in the flow and chorus. The following track, again with the dumb chorus. Otherwise it has a kind of cool sound to it, and his rapping is usually pretty good. The last track is pretty good, though again the chorus and singing kind of ruins it. I dunno. I get that this might be important for British rap, but at least put Original Pirate Material on instead of this. When I think of all the truly great rap albums not on this list, I get annoyed. Dimery really doesn't understand the genre. 2/5.
Holy shit dude what is genuinely wrong with british people? I have realized through reading reviews that a lot of people who use this site are british, and the critics who made the list are british and like are y'all for real? To Pimp a Butterfly, good kid m.A.A.d city, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and The College Dropout are all controversial, but here this is. If this wasn't made by a white british person this would be hated so hard. This is so awful please british people listen to good rap music like at some point you gotta get with the times.
This was bad. It sounded like a whiny, drunk guy poorly rapping about all his troubles over a random drum track setting and constantly a step behind the beat. 1/5
Sounds like British blokes poking fun at rap 1/5
Didn't finish. The spoken word hip hop is not for me. Quite possibly the most British thing ive ever encountered.
The music is good enough, the concept is alright. But the success of a concept album telling a story needs a charismatic character, and this album just doesn't have that.
Killer, unique, catchy. Felt like a Guy Ritchie movie you could listen to. Unexpectedly charming and sweet.
I see why this is well liked, personally not for me.
I don’t think I’ve ever given a 1 before. But this might earn it. Maybe I need more background but what about this album is so important it made it into this list? I guess it’s a rap opera which is a great concept and I think maybe others have executed this way better? Anyways the flow is just not there. I can’t tell if this is a joke or what. I’m not getting it. Somehow I've heard one of these songs, and maybe this saves the whole album? 'Fit But You Know It' is actually decent as is 'Dry Your Eyes'. This album really might have been saved at the back end, you get rewarded for sticking with it.
Almost 150 in, and this is the worst album I've heard on here so far. I saw "early UK Rap" and was interested, but this was horrible. I legitimately had to look up and verify whether or not this was satire. His delivery is awkward and the flow is nonexistent. The music sounds like he randomly picked a pre made tune that came with his keyboard.
While it grew on me over the length of the album, the flows were still hella rough a lot of the time and the productions is very dated even for back then
Very British. Too British. Kinda a vibe… sometimes… ended really well. 3
british hip hop is polarizing because it's hard not to think about that meme the whole time, you know the one: "she suck on my willy, it's quite delightful/if i see you in west gloucestershire you'll catch the rifle" having said that, i do enjoy a good bit of grime, and frankly, british accents and regionalisms are no more foreign to me as a southerner (american, not english) than references to something called "fatburger" in west coast rap. this is the only album by the streets that i'm super familiar with. honestly, i dig it. mike skinner raps about what he knows: being working class, broke, heartbroken, horny, hopeless. at times it feels more like spoken word poetry than rap. there's no fronting here. this is reality rap just as much as mobb deep is, it's just reality of a different flavor, and no less harsh an aftertaste. oh, and it's a concept album, with writing inspired by skinner's love of hollywood screenwriting. pretty ambitious stuff. think of it as a soundtrack to getting wasted and wasting away on a slow drip, addicted to whatever is in front of you: gambling, drugs, dead end relationships, toxic people, your own toxicity, in a world that the sex pistols foretold. no future, for you. the beats are simple but fitting to the material. the hooks, too, tend to work their way into your subconscious without much effort or flashiness. the focus, in the moment, remains on skinner's protagonist, whose behavior reminds one uncomfortably of howie from uncut gems. would sleaford mods exist without this album? i hear what could be the origins of viagra boys here, too. before "male loneliness epidemic" became part of our vocabulary, skinner spoke to the alienation of young men under neoliberalism, capitalist realism, whatever you want to call it. i haven't listened to this album in years, but it remains a landmark in the post britpop sonic landscape, and i highly recommend it.
strong dislike
GARBAGE
I’m gonna start with something good to say - this album tells a story, and I appreciate the consistent through line in the album. I appreciate their commitment to this unorthodox music style. And, it did make me think critically about the importance of metronomes. Now, for the rest of my review. This album has all of the flow of a 5th grader’s poetry who need to make sure every line rhymes. The lyrics are laughably bad and painfully British. There is NO musical excitement - once a beat is established, it does not change or grow throughout the song. There is nothing cool about this album. Nothing even close. It’s kind of like they recorded the lyrics first and then found a backing track and used it without seeing if it fit with the tempo or rhythm of the rapper. This album is actually a ringing endorsement of bullying - someone really should’ve bullied these guys out of releasing this album. The only thing that would redeem this would be if they came out and said “guys this whole album was a joke”.
When will the British be held accountable for their crimes
4/10
absolutely RUBBISH
very british, day in the life raps. kinda reminds me of atmosphere life gives you lemons but more British and less good
hip hop
I’d heard a few songs by The Streets before and thought I didn’t mind them, but I can’t do a whole album. In fairness, this isn’t a style of music I listen to much anyway and I know people who love this. It’s just not for me.
Fy faen det her låter kjipt. Noe av den dårligste produksjonen jeg noensinne har vært borti. De fleste av låtene er også jævlig slitsomme. De små faklene som signaliserer gode låter brenner for svakt og for spredt til å utgjøre noen forskjell. Focken' shait, innit.
Min umiddelbare er «kult, skranglete britisk hiphop», men går til å bare være slitsomt. «Fit But You Know It» kunne vært en Gorillaz-demo, og egentlig bærer hele plata preg av at det enda er på demostadiet.
Det er mulig jeg begynner å bli manisk, men dette er egentlig ganske kult? Eller, kult er det aller siste det er, men bra? Det er noe alvorlig galt med produksjonen, rappen er ofte utight og flowen fungere ikke alltid. Men det er noe ved dette som fanger meg. Jeg er tydligvis svak for såkalt "rap opera", eller så er det noe alvorlig galt med meg.
I might have to pay a grand for the amount of therapy I need after listening to this… album. I genuinely cannot fathom how this got on the list. If the beats are sampled, I feel sympathy to the original artists for their track being run into the mud for this. If they made these beats, I’d have to imagine their producer is a 5 year old making beats on GarageBand for the first time with how uninspiring and yucky the beats are. Bro can’t flow bro can’t rap the lyricism almost gets the album to comedic funny because of how bloody horseshit they are. I felt like IShowSpeed on that one iconic Fortnite gif the entire time, tryna not to laugh at it BECAUSE I LISTENED TO THIS AT WORK HELPPPPPPP. How tf 1.6 million people listening to this guy every month
What the hell is this crap? This guy is just rambling about his boring British problems. There's no flow throughout the whole album. At times, you can only laugh at this because it is that preposterous.
LOL. i'm not sure i've ever listened to something so tuneless, so rhythmless, so utterly grating to listen to. the rap flow is terrible, the vocals are awful, the lyrics are unbelievably annoying - everything about it so completely swagless or ugly that i helplessly laughed through the entire thing. i have no idea why this is on here or who it's for but i'm giving it an extra star just for giving me a chuckle. wow. did you know they just let anyone make music
the usa in 2004 writing a rock opera: don't wanna be an american idiot!! the uk in 2004 writing a rap opera: oi mate, 'old mah bee-ah, yeh? this was... bad. like, embarrassingly bad. i almost feel sorry for the streets having this... thing... immortalized in the 1001 albums list. you couldn't waterboard this album out of me. the album starts off with a little orchestral fanfare, and you're like oh, okay, interesting, this sounds like it might be a big deal. 12 seconds in, the most swagless bloke of all time starts “rapping” (really just speaking off-tempo since he has no flow whatsoever) about returning DVDs. the rest of the album is downhill from there, makes even less sense, and proudly showing off some of the worst rapping, samples, and production i have ever had the misfortune to hear. the most listenable song here, blinded by the lights, sets itself apart by having a female guest vocalist, a less outright annoying sample throughout, and not enough else going on to fuck it up. and then it's right back to samples and melodies that sound like an something an eighth grader starting a band would write before scrapping them for being too childish. incredible stuff. this would be an easy one star but i do kinda feel bad for this guy and it made me laugh a few times because it was so awful. TWO STARS!!
When I saw this described as a rap opera, I was skeptical. But ended up enjoying it more than expected!
Fit But You Know It was fun, the rest so-so.
I listened to the first Streets album when it came out. Based on that experience, I skipped every subsequent Streets release. That was the correct choice.
Shite.
This is a time capsule.
1/5
The album has a funny storytelling and it is interesting at times but how this album could deserve inclusion in a list such as this one is beyond me. 5/10 [DROP]
Kova levy RIP streets
DNF.
I don't think we've had an album yet that has gone as quickly from, "Ok, this might not be bad" to "Alright, fuck this" as quickly as this one did for me.
So. Boring. So much talking in monotone. So much hitting a snare drum button on a Casio. So much me not giving a living shit about whatever is being said. WTF is wrong with the Brits who made this a hit? Why did I listen to this today? So. Boring.
I had heard this when it came out and enjoyed revisiting it. I have a soft spot for English "white trash" music, and this was on the early side of that genre dipping into rap. I would probably go to 4 stars for their previous album Original Pirate Material for sheer brashness. This album is more considered and purposeful but I think loses some verve.
Didn’t get far
2/5 - I would have rated this much differently in 2004, but this hasn't aged well for me at all. I've listened to it plenty in the past, but really couldn't make it through this time. Funny how time changes your perspective on what's worth the bother and the hype. The observational lyrics are still solid, but the total lack of flow on this record just kills me now.
Tells a story from start to finish and makes you wanna keep listening. I have always loved Dry Your Eyes, I always picture it being sung by your brother or something. Such a good but sad song.
sounds like a teenager's journal read over a beat from a 1990's era drum machine. Shite!
It alright, but not really compelling to revisit.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: the opening track is… rough. It feels like two completely unrelated ideas awkwardly glued together, like someone decided to multitask in the worst possible way, half vibing, half doing something they definitely shouldn’t be doing while music is playing. It’s jarring, confusing, and not exactly a great first impression. Thankfully, things pick up after that questionable start. The rest of the album settles into a more coherent groove, leaning heavily on storytelling. The lyrics are the real highlight here, engaging, often witty, and structured almost like a spoken-word poem laid over a laid-back rap backdrop. It’s less about traditional musicality and more about narrative flow, which works surprisingly well. That said, it doesn’t exactly break new ground. The themes feel familiar, and while they’re handled with charm, you won’t find anything radically original here. Still, it’s an enjoyable listen once you get past the rocky introduction. 6/10
what
Fun that it's a consistent story across songs, but the songs themselves aren't all that great
This is amazing honestly fucking fight me
I’m not too sure about this. I like the hits, but it’s not really my favourite genre
I've heard Fit But You Know It somewhere, but I have no idea where. Dry Your Eyes wasn't too bad, but christ, my initial thought was that this was a parody of rap albums. Maybe I'm not cool enough to "get" this album...and that's okay.
לא אהבתי זה היה ממש מעצבן
Favorite Track: Fit But You Know It
Funny
I thought I might be in trouble when all Wikipedia had to say about this was "it is on the 1001 albums list." How so many people thought this was a 5 (the best possible rating) is really puzzling.
God awful rapping. Who let the British make Hip-Hop?? They should stop doing that. This was an album where right from the start, with that whiny "It was supposed to be so eeeaaassssyyyyyy" I let out an audible "Oh no" and figured I would be giving this a 1 for the first time in well over 150 albums. I managed to listen to this a few times, and while I still really do want to give it a 1, I was able to get some enjoyment from the story this tells. For being a Rap Opera, it's at least unique enough to warrant having a spot in this book, but man is it not for me. It's basically just about some British blokes terrible day and him trying to find his grand. What makes it interesting is the amount of times he hints at where the money is. Spoiler alert: It was behind his broken TV the entire time, as he'd been complaining about his TV not working for multiple songs. My favorite song here, if you can call it that, was "Not Addicted", simply because I thought the beat was alright. I also kind of liked the back and forth he has with his girl in "Get Out of My House". When this is on in the background, it's not as intrusive as I thought it was the first time I listened through it in shock and terror. I still don't like it, I mean REALLY don't like it, but the 1 star rating is reserved for albums that actively made me miserable, and there's even enough positives to talk about with this one that even though I'm hesitant, I'll give this one a 2.0 on the dot out of 5 and call it a day. I was specifically asking for a more memorable album for better or worse yesterday, so I guess I got what I wanted. This was certainly very memorable, and love it or hate it, I'm going to remember it down the line. So, it's got that going for it. Not in a good way, but it's something going for it at least.
Very British rap music. The album told a story that was sort of entertaining. I’m not a fan of British rap though.
HOT, HOT, HOT Garbage
I was really hoping I would enjoy this, but boy did I not
I like The Streets in moderation, I like a decent amount of the tracks but listening to it in full the style can be a bit much. I think I like the concept of this album as a 'rap opera' more than the actual execution of it. Very interesting album that's definitely deserving of being included here though. Fit But You Know It and Dry Your Eyes are still British classics.
This album is comically bad. My jaw was hanging open throughout the majority of the first track because how shit it was. The flow sucks, the beats are goofy as hell, and the lyrics are basic and repetitive. Every song repeats the chorus like 5 times and its infuriating. This is why this is my first ever 1-rated album.
What a delightful surprise. I was locked in for this entire tale of young love and heartbreak from the perspective of a foolish young British man, gambling addict, doing too many drugs, adrift in early adulthood, who comes into some maturing through love and loss. Well done.
Shit
Garbage
The limey hip hop Jilted John. Fine I guess but nothing even comes close to Baz's Party.
Worse than dinosaur jr., but slightly less aggravating to listen to than slint. 1.25 rounded up.
Loš album skroz. 1/5, 1/10
Interesting concept, not an interesting story.
even though the absurdity of this idea almost made me quit the project, i liked dry your eyes. i still find it a little ridiculous that british people were rapping, but it’s highkey growing on mt
I didn’t really care for this album, I guess the concept was interesting but I just found the songs dull.
I do really like this but to have this and not Original Pirate Material in this list is criminal… the story telling is great though
Meh
Not my thing at all
Good.
Highlights: Fit but You Know It Lowlights: Literally everything else Shit beats. Shit lyrics. Shit flow. Is this guy a nepo baby or something? This makes 3Pac sound like Kendrick.
I didn’t expect to like this more than I did for UK hip hop.
I was excited to hear this, I tend to enjoy the urban UK scene. This project might be the reason why, demonstrating to British artists that they can be themselves, and that bringing your culture to the front is the point of rapping. This fell short to me for a couple of reasons. The talk-rhyming feels like too many steps backwards, hopping from 2004 to early '80s rap or the '90s poetry scene. Conceptually it's kind of cool, in theory, but then musically it also feels choppy to me. I can see myself potentially enjoying it more if I'd been an adult when it came out, dissecting the art of the release and pairing it with culture and philosophy —at the moment. Before what it inspired got to exist. Today, 2026, I've already enjoyed the sound that comes after this burst of UK rap, I've heard how it's been refined, and that's what I'd rather listen to. I wouldn't recommend this album. 1.8/5
It certainly sounds more interesting when somebody raps with a british accent. But it does not make it any better. And oh, hmmm ... wasn't it to be a list of albums you needed to hear? What, one of the albums you need to hear before you die? Really? Why? I can't think of one reason why this album is here on this list. Maybe because you should wander whether to have burger or chips? Or to teach you to first decide what to order and then stand in the queue? Or because you should be standing more often at the bar waving a ten pound note around? It is a joke, that this album is on this list.
I came into this thinking, I wont like it but I'll give it a go The it gets to Get Out of My House and its 50× worse than I could have imagined People must be pretending to like this absolutely shite shit shitness. Its embarrassing to listen to
What a surprise, one I'd never heard before but there is a lot of ear worms here
A concept album about losing/finding a grand and breaking up/making up with the missus. It's a scarily accurate portrayal of bog standard life of taking pills, double dropping, clubbing, pulling, fighting, paranoia, hanging out with your mates, having a kebab... god it's bleak in places but it also has flashes of happiness in there as well. Takes me back. Best Tracks: Could Well Be In; Blinded By The Lights; Fit But You Know It
A good album, nowhere near as good as Original Pirate Material. Felt like more of a commercial album compared to what had come before it, but still an enjoyable listen and something I would welcome listening to again and again
yeah 10 sec was enough
wow this suuuuuccckks
I usually like British rap or grime. But I've tried to listen to this about four times now. I made it to Dry Your Eyes this time. Why not finish it you say? You're only one track away from the end you say? I just can't take it any more. I can't try for a fifth time. It's just bad. It's not good. It just isn't.
Cool this is the worst rap album i have ever heard. I love rap, and this is a mockery
Really not my thing. I've never enjoyed his rapping style and a whole album of this felt like a chore.
Favorite track(s): an album that left me truly flabbergasted as to its widespread critical and commercial success. I can't say I wasn't entertained, I was laughing damn near the whole way through. "Are you smoking crack or something? We cannot have that behavior in this establishment."
The state of the album must’ve been shit in 2004 pitchfork loved this thing and everybody else praised. How was a return to the concept album my dude lost $1000 in the back of a TV? And then proceeded to be an idiot for a week great album.
Pretty boring. The beats were generic and the flow was terrible. Most of the time he was just talking.
Yeah this is a weird one. Very take it or leave it
I truly do not mean to be hyperbolic - this might be the single worst album I've ever heard. Not only is it bad, it also fails at even qualifying as "music". The vocals aren't lined up with the melodies, and the melodies aren't even in line with the percussion hits, failing at basic time keeping. And that's before even addressing the laughably amateurish lyrics and "plot" of this "opera". Just fails spectacularly at literally every part of being an "album" and I'm amazed this was even produced, let alone included in this project
caramba mudou minha definição de horrivel
4.5/10
Hardly through the first song and ABSOLUTELY hating this. This is proof that people will consume anything no matter how bad it is
Truly terrible.
Not my thing but very interesting. I like the story aspect.
The Streets – A Grand Don't Come For Free On Day 42, the streak has been violently broken by an album that felt completely "ass" from start to finish. Despite the "narrative" promise, A Grand Don't Come For Free lacked any energy or "triumphant" momentum, making the storytelling feel slow and "unidimensional." For someone who doesn't connect with the UK Grime/Garage aesthetic, the "everyday" delivery lacked the "vocal triumph" or "immaculate" production needed to keep me engaged. It was a "soulless" experience that failed to hit the brain just fine, serving as a reminder that a good story means nothing if the music has zero energy. A definitive 1/5.
Is this a joke? This is like the progenitor of Kyle Mooney’s album The Real Me. And yet, it worked for me.
2/10 - Favorite song: Fit but you know it
I really did not like this. More like spoken word than rapping. I don’t care about the concept album and couldn’t really follow the story. Maybe the worst one
Really hated this. The sound of the vocals and delivery is so irritating. I cant understand the positive reviews for this record.
This got worse and worse. The only song I enjoyed was fit and you know it
3.5 It’s not as good as the debut by far as the big songs are great but the rest are significantly weaker unfortunately but this still brings back memories from my younger days in London.
I like the delivery. I feel like the music's kinda lacking at times. I know it's that early '00 Grime style which can be more minimal or sparse, but I dunno. It's cool tho, like I like it.
Atrocious (bro's British, that's all that u need to know)
Love the Streets! For a few months in college, my improv group was trying to work music and freestyle rap into our shows. Our director (we took turns directing each other for the semester) told us to stop getting so hung up about rhyming, listen to this album, and just do it like this guy. Turns out what this guy does is not so simple and takes a TON of skill and artistry. That director went on to coach at UCB for a while, work in a head shop, screenwrite and teach screenwriting, and is now studying to become a therapist. We never ended up getting very musical but I had a great time listening to this album over and over.
What else can I say but...wow, no thank you.
193/1089 i don’t think this is gonna be for me… very awkward and stunted flow. Blinded by the Lights is pretty good though, the combination of the rapping and female vocal as well as the intense production definitely stands out. It reminds me of Twenty One Pilots’ Car Radio okay it’s picked up a lot and feels like it’s hit it’s stride. It was kinda funny going through this album thinking “this guy sounds familiar” and then getting hit with Fit But Don’t You Know It and it all clicks. What’s funnier then, is getting to the chorus of Dry Your Eyes and realising that you know that song too i get why people might not like this (non-brits especially bc it’s VERY bri’ish) and the first 3 songs are EASILY the weakest, but it’s got something so addictive and fun about it. and i think knowing that it’s a concept album is also very important to understanding the tone etc faves: Blinded by the lights, Get out of my house, Fit but you know it, Empty cans 70/100
British Eminem?
british white boy rap is just not for me
mf british white boy rap... seriously???????
Such an interesting listen, you don't see rap operas often. everything that I enjoyed about it seems to be why everyone else doesn't like it. I have a new favourite rap album.
That's not my taste in music - But ok
The vocalists tone is unbearable. Maybe it’s because I’m a “shtewpid” American, but it sounds like they are mumbling about nonsense.
1/5 Bloody hell.
Very interesting British rap concept album. Could be a very fun thing to randomly encounter on a rap playlist.
no me gusta para nada este rap blanco uk cuando cantan, lo hacen desafinado y fuera de tiempo como si quedara bien malardo
aggravating english man weaponizes his ugly ass voice to create an incredibly annoying concept album telling the dullest story in the world. come for his jerky line delivery that could possibly be described as anti-flow, stay for the canned music that alternates between obnoxious casio beats and mismatched, overly bombastic pseudo-orchestral music. the big question this one leaves you with is: what's worse, his rapping or his singing? the answer of course is both
Absolute shit
I don't like R A P ...
Not really into the stuttering singspeak rapping but it does have its fanbase. I'll revisit this one in a few weeks. For now: 4/10
No me gustó
A real mix of the sublime and the ridiculous. By which I mean it's almost all dreadful, and yet very occasionally you get smacked by a little line like 'it's hard enough remembering my opinions without remembering the reasons for them'. And you realise this moron is quoting Nietzsche. And then he goes straight into the ultimate anthem of the goon - Fit But You Know It. Confusing stuff. Also, elevated by making me think of that video of then Fulham manager Scott Parker celebrating promotion to the backing of Dry Your Eyes. So in conclusion, this is basically garbage, but it's our garbage.
Ugh, Ugh Ugh and WHY?????
I couldn't make head or tails of the story, and the flow of the music felt really awkward. I could sort of appreciate some of the rhymes and lyrics, but they never really flowed together to build up to anything I could actually like. Was ultimately pretty lame.
I have happy memories of listening to this on sunny road trips the summer it came out. It’s a solid rap opera, focusing on the heartache and beauty and frustration in mundane, everyday life - no pop-song hyperbole here. There are some tracks that are just there to move the story forward, and there’s not many tracks I’d listen to in isolation (maybe just Fit But You Know It and Dry Your Eyes), but as an album it’s a work of art.
Hip hop British
cute
Sounded so stupid at first but omg just turned funny and dont you know it slaps. Fun concept
Það kemur mér svolítið á óvart hvað þessi fær lága einkunn að meðaltali. Engin gargandi snilld og ekki tónlist sem ég er sérstaklega hrifinn af, en mér fannst þetta alveg fínt.
Como um fã de rap, devo dizer que isso foi a pior merda que eu ja ouvi na vida. 0/10
Vocals: 0/10 Lyrics: 0/10 Instruments: 1/10 Likely to Listen Again: 0/10 Overall: 0/10 Horrible song I never want to hear it again, he sounds like a robot and there is no style its like listening to someone talk in one tone forever hes singing like hes talking and just stretchin his words and his accent makes it ten times worse I HATE IT
I'm just not a fan of spoken poetry when its trying to be passed off as music.
This might be good, but I can't get over him singing everything like a chav. I just can't take it seriously.
YES! I’ve been waiting for this one! This is how much joy this album gives me- I recently purchased tickets to fly across the Atlantic Ocean to hear it performed live later this year. All of my children can probably sing it start to finish. Which of course is the only real way this album should ever be approached- in its entirety so you can get the entire saga. Makes me laugh every time, apart from Dry Your Eyes, which makes me cry it’s so beautiful. Truly the most honest breakup song ever written. The story of Mike growing up, God love him… Can you tell I love this album??
I like the lead singer’s accent, but he seems like a wanker. These songs are pretty rude.
This album is somehow very good and very bad at the same time. Things I like: Blinded by the Lights instrumental, the album story arc of losing and (spoiler alert) finding his 1k and the relationship breakdown, the heartstring tugging of Dry Your Eyes. Things I don't like: most of the other instrumentals particularly Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way, basically everything about Get Out of My House, basically everything about Not Addicted. Things I probably shouldn't like but kinda do: Fit But You Know It - its so damn stupid and obnoxious but its such an earworm. With this much good and bad lets just call it a 3/5.
I liked this more when it came out than I do now, I think. I would have put Original Pirate Material on the list over this. Still, there are bits that work. Really well; I like Blinded by the Lights.
I really wish this guy was a better rapper because his voice and rapping are what made this borderline unlistenable. This definitely gets a +1 for the concept, since there are very few rap concept albums, and the tracks “Dry Your Eyes” and “Empty Cans,” which are actually quite good. But overall this is a little too gimmicky for most of the album and a bit too literal. I think I’m so frustrated because in more skilled hands, this album actually could have been good. The two closing tracks, which are standouts, seem to have almost happened by accident. I think if he had leaned more into the singing rap style rather than the talking rap style, this also could have been better. But his flow is pretty atrocious. I almost started to enjoy this at the end, but the last few tracks can’t make up for such a horrendous start.
Sounds like British middle school kids experimenting with slam poetry
Myślałam że nie wytrzymam a to było tak ciekawe i tak konceptualne i tak okropnie street British że ostatecznie mimo że nie przesłucham nigdy więcej to jednak się jaram xd
This is such a goofball of an album. At face value it's really not good. The storytelling is alright but the story itself is so dumb. The singing is very cringy with no pitch or vocal range. The rapping has no rhythm/flow, feels off beat most of the time. All of that negativity being said, this album does have a layer of charm to it. Something about that dry British humor. And I can't even tell if it is meant to be humorous or not. It just is. So for that, it gets one bonus star.
Just couldn't get into this one. The concept of a rap opera sounds interesting, but it just did not deliver.
Quintessentially UK. I get why people don’t like it, but its cultural capital is huuge and great live performance
It was alright. Opening track is a banger. In general though, not my bag
So clever. So funny. So good. I was watching shameless before watching this and it was a great accompaniment. Nothing better than a mundane story album. Not always relatable but you can see, smell and hear the stories being spoken.
A Grand Don't Come For Free
It was a grower. Started a bit rough but by the end I enjoyed the journey.
Wow. British ACCENT. Interesting experience. I liked the melodies. I didn't find the rhyming tiring. Either way, a neutral thing for me. 3 stars.
Good album! I like the streets but haven't heard them in forever!
Sometimes it was entertaining but also I had SUCH a hard time getting through it
Not good at all. Terrible rap!
Ok 2/5
Spoken word rap album, not really sung. Never heard a "rap opera" before, and don't think I want to hear another. I just don't know what to do with this. Two stars for comedic rhyming and timing. "It Was Supposed To Be So Easy"...I've had that day. Listened before? N Saved tracks? N Favorite tracks? N/A ⭐⭐ Didn't like it. Saved no tracks.
Okay, when I said in a recent review for Q-Tip that I wanted to discover more good hip-hop...this is not what I meant. Am I being pranked?
really solid uk hip hop, a fun listen with a few unexpected moments
This album is mid, it’s not really the kind of music I usually listen to but there was still a couple songs that I really liked. I think my top three were dry your eyes, wouldn’t have it any other way, and blinded by the lights. The rest of the songs were alright but not great. The album was very wordy and I think that threw me off a couple of songs. The beat on a couple were just strange.