A Grand Don't Come For Free

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.

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.

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

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.

Piti hetken, kun tässä ratsastellaan kolmosen ja kakkosen rajamaastossa. Jossain vaiheessa toi brittiaksentti kuulosti hyvältä, mut lopulta biisien tylsyys vei voiton ja kakkoseen

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.

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.

Ein guter Song - der Rest war nicht sehr catchy...

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

*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.

I never got the streets

Tedious as hell. Did not enjoy.

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

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

Didn't really like this, it's just like slam poetry with background music

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.

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!

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.

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

если бы я записала рэп альбом

This was both boring and unnerving, if that makes any sense. But the record doesn't, either.

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.

English Beastie Boys...?

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

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 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.

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.

GARBAGE

4/10

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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.

Fun that it's a consistent story across songs, but the songs themselves aren't all that great

I’m not too sure about this. I like the hits, but it’s not really my favourite genre

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.

The limey hip hop Jilted John. Fine I guess but nothing even comes close to Baz's Party.

Interesting concept, not an interesting story.

Meh

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

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.

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

This got worse and worse. The only song I enjoyed was fit and you know it

British Eminem?

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

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.

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.

cute

This might be good, but I can't get over him singing everything like a chav. I just can't take it seriously.

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.

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.

Sometimes it was entertaining but also I had SUCH a hard time getting through it

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.

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.

Most of this was mid. A few more of the high energy songs where good. Also he must have just leaned the word "spliff" because he can't stop saying it.

Funny but I don’t think I would listen often

is this a joke?? is it supposed to be some type of "rap opera" parody??? WHY is it on the list??? 1.5 stars. bump to 2 only because it did have some variations in tempo, but this felt incredibly amateur & juvenile

A repetitive poor mess.

Did not enjoy this, at all.

This is... odd. 2/5

he sounds like british blueface, sounds so shit but i cant stop listening

What a punish. The most basic and simple beats with amateur sounding rapping. I was amazed this was on the list, but after getting through the album there was 2 songs that were decent and I didn’t hate. I can see that these style of songs influenced a rapping style and minimalist style of production but it’s not for me.

4/10

Not for my taste. Kinda sounds outdated.

Not great, but could be worse. Very British though.

Notoriously hard to write about bleak and boring without being bleak and boring while writing about it. Likewise, writing about dramatic things doesn't mean the writing will automatically be dramatic. About this effort, I pretty much just don't care that much. Not for me.

Wow. This is three duds in a row for me. I couldn't get past the deliberate non-rhythm of this. His deadpan delivery didn't help. Never got close to flowing with this.

This was not good, like "made in my basement while drunk" bad. But their accents were funny so that's good, I guess. 2/5

I get what they were going for with the vocala, but I just don’t think it worked out

A day in the life of a true Brexit geezer. Least charismatic performance of a somewhat funny story. The flows just aren’t there and the hooks are mostly uninteresting.

Mike Skinner isn’t the strongest rapper among the artists in the 1001 Albums book, and his delivery can feel flat or awkward across a full record. Still, the concept — a loose narrative about the mysterious loss of £1000 and the unraveling of everyday life around it — is clever and gives the album a unique angle. The storytelling stands out more than the actual performances, making the idea more memorable than the execution.

Album 984 of 1089 A Grand Don't Come For Free - The Streets (2004) Rating : 2 / 5 This one falls under British hip hop, and I’ll be honest - it just didn’t do much for me. The whole album plays out like some guy narrating the odd moments of his life in a very plain, very literal way. I can appreciate that it has a certain charm for listeners who like storytelling in this style, but to me it came across as pretty elementary. There’s nothing particularly offensive about it - it’s just not something I connect with. The flow, the delivery, the overall feel of the album all left me thinking, “Well… that was something,” and moving on. Not for me, but I can see how it might hit differently for others.

Из примечательного здесь только британский акцент. Остальное даже хип-хопом назвать нельзя. Такой себе недоЭминем.

Why does this sound like if Eggsy from Kingsman: The Secret Service made an album

Shes looking kind of fit, I feel like a fit, my mate in the back telling me to split. I wasn’t feeling it.

Good idea poorly executed. My first impression was WHAT THE HELL? I really don't have much to say about this. Definitely sounds like it was made in someone's bedroom.

Album #979 British rap so laughably bad it’s good?

Not for me

2.5

Several transitions in the songs were really awkwardly abrupt. Didn't get it.

I really liked the concept but musically it is terrible

The ability for this list to have both some of the greatest hip hop ever created and the worst all at the same time is impressive.It really is a spoken word album not a hip-hop album. I’ll give the album credit through- If you give it a listen the storytelling is well done. That’s the only redemption.

#769. If I learn nothing from this experience, at least I will have learned British rap is quite possibly the stupidest genre of music to ever exist. 2/5: dumb

2.5

empty cans is nice, rest is not really for me

The beats, lyrics, and flow were pretty bad. The concept story throughout the album made it interesting to listen to and saved this from being a 1. 2/5

Hard pass for me. British rap just isn’t my thing, and this guys delivery is especially terrible

I listened to dis album quite confused, thinking na im di bosh man skinner who does west ham and strictly com dancing. No sabi who dis mike fella na, no tok bosh once. I also dont fit and you sabi it. If you go dey for a jog then you go sabi you jog a lot and then you go de very fit. Send accidentally runs a marathon. Maybe dem do. I dont sabi

did you ever think aftershocks would get immortalised in song? storyline for the concept - dogshit rapping - dogshit song about pills - class i hope we get daphne and celestes album next.

Oof. It’s the British Biz Markie of the 00’s. Not good

Interesting concept, strange execution. One good fun song, the rest not my style.

I mean...hmmm the synthesizing was cool at times. Wikipedia says Skinner describes his upbringing as "Barratt class: suburban estates, not poor but not much money about, really boring." I feel like that also describes this album...not poor but not much substance, really boring.

No. If this is what British people sound like when they rap, maybe they should not do that.

Some critics called this guy the British Eminem. Pfffffttttt …

I can see why the first album was so lauded, as Skinner's schtick - at the time - was fairly unique in its simplicity and embracing of a DIY sound. If you ignore Dizzee Rascal, that is. But unlike Dizzee, Mike seems to keep saying the same thing, in the same style. I'm probably too old to relate to the 'flawed-but-alright-really' young geezer that seems to be the main character here, but I did find it a bit wearing after a while. Just not really my thing, I guess. I get it, but I didn't particularly enjoy it.

This was a unique album, not sure of my thoughts. I don’t think I would choose to listen again, but if I heard it again that would be ok

This is kind of interesting but deeply flawed. This is basically a narrative spoken word/UK rap concept album/opera. The plot of A Grand Don't Come For Free is that our hero, Mike has a shitty day, culminating in him losing 1000 British Pounds. And on his quest to get it back, he falls in love, attempts sports betting, falls out of love, gets drunk, falls in love again, and more. The sound of this thing is kind of a mixed bag. First, the beats are generally good, if a little clunky. One of my favorites is the beat on Blinded By The Lights. Now, moving past that, let's discuss the real sticking point for a lot of people, the delivery and lyrics. The Streets' delivery is kind of baffling here. I said this was a rap and spoken word album, but I'd really like to emphasize the spoken word aspect. In fact, it's almost all spoken word. The delivery is low energy and conversational, and the flow is choppy and weird, which comes across as clunky. The lyrics are also weird, instead of more conventional hip hop poetics, the skew here is towards *very* literal storytelling, which again is clunky at times. And, this all compounds with the occasionally clunky beats. The overall project is so clunky, it's almost *blocky*. Like it damn near sounds stylized. And I could imagine this being a draw for *someone* but I'm just usually not into it. Although this has some positives, mostly related to the narrative and storytelling. The "common man's adventure" slant really adds something weirdly relatable. Like there's a mundanity here, but it very much works in favor of the album. And something else interesting about the narrative is how, without thinking, 1000 pounds, doesn't *feel* like that much money. But, really, most people wouldn't bounce back easily if they lost it. Like, I certainly just couldn't shrug off 1000 dollars. And the presentation of this idea almost gets to a kind of class consciousness that was pretty cool. I will also say that I liked the ending. The final song of this album has two endings to the story. First, we are presented with an ending where Mike is overcome with bitterness and gets into a fight with the TV repairman without learning a damn thing. But then we are shown another world in which he makes up with his friends, and they open up the TV themselves, discovering that the 1000 pounds fell into it. It's kind of obvious, but the presentation of it genuinely feels kind of sweet and I had a good emotional payoff even though I didn't love this whole album. Like I said, this is interesting but *deeply* flawed. And while I didn't love it, I am glad I heard it. And I am excited to hear more music by The Streets. I could even see this growing on me a little. But as of now, I just can't see myself giving this any higher than a 2.

Fit but you know it and dry your eyes mate saves it from getting a 1. I wish the rest of the album had more life like these songs.

just not for me at all

Very odd and brash. I liked few but others were hard to find its flow

Brits don't rap right.

Jag gillar inte rap, även om det här inte outhärdligt, dessutom tjusas jag av dialekten.

Dry Your Eyes is a really good song, the rest of the album isn't something I was fond of.

Hip hop as a genre evolved out of desire for an african american sound in urban cities like NYC. Western pop music often passes back and forth across the pond, but it isn't often we see the genre starting here in the states. Hip hop was intended to be by and for working class people. By 2004, rappers were as big as rock stars. For those of you born in the 90s and after, I promise this is a notable thing to say. So suffice to say, hip hop wasn't only being mad by working class americans anymore. Moving onto to this album, the nicest thing I can say about it is that it seems like a genuine application of the genre to tell stories from his perspective, for a specific working class audience in the UK. The music itself is interesting from a cross cultural perspective, but I can't really say I enjoyed this album. It was interesting enough, but it didn't really get any feelings out of me. This album is long and doesn't have a lot going on musically that I enjoy, but I appreciate the rejection of "posh" english.

this is the equivalent of 80's corny rap from the U.S.A. but put to serious beats making for a terrible english breakfast of music.

Naaa bruv this ain’t for me

Not my style a couple songs were okay, but as a whole didn't think it was that interesting

I feel like most people who like this guy like his accent. Anyway, it’s not bad. Just a little monotonous but I dig the concept.

Rap opera. Occasional moments of impressive lyricism and good beats, but otherwise a lot of it felt really forced. Standout is "Fit but You Know It"

1960s jazzy. Medium for my taste. I dont like very much but i dont hate as well.

Extra star for being different, but the flow is bad, the choruses are annoying and the story sucks.

This is really not my groove. No hatred for it and some of it was ok but not my thing.

ruwere hiphop UK NIet heel slecht, niet mijn smaak

Never let white Brits rap again.

Man, I love the concept of this but I despise the execution. The idea - getting into the head of a regular guy who also happens to be a huge piece of shit - as he goes about his day is very interested. I would be willing to forgive the wack-ass flow or lack thereof if they pulled this off. However, I have two major issues with it. My first is that he goes for the easiest, most obvious rhyme every time. You are never wondering what he will say next. You are never surprised by an excellent couplent and you will never find yourself going OH SHIT as he makes words fit together. Instead, you will find yourself slowly applauding when he makes a sentence come out without interruption. This is a big weakness because he is trying to deal with complex emotions using the vocabulary of an eight year old. My second problem is that we are ostensibly listening to someone's interior thoughts, but he spends the majority of the time talking about things that are happening. For example, in Such a Twat he is mainly focused on his actions but not his feelings. Dry Your Tears hints at it a little with the chorus encouraging the protagonist to give up and walk away, but the verses are really preoccupied with telling us where everyone's hand is and where they are facing. Lastly, on Empty Cans, he spends more time telling us there are fifteen screws on the back panel of the TV than letting us now how the money could be back there. A great idea ruined by poor execution and focusing on the wrong stuff.

Not for me. I still listened to the whole album. I can respect the artist, but it was kind of boring to listen to.

Concept rap (more like spoken word) album with a strong English accent. This is pretty goofy sounding but I got more invested the longer I listened. It has an air that someone has enough money independently to hire a producer and create an album. I will admit the idea is good, and the journey was harrowing with a breakup and losing that 1000 quid.

I like a lot of rap artists, I even like a few UK based rap artists, but found Blinded by the Lights to be the first good one on this release, which is four tracks in on the version I listened to. It'll be hard to rate this release above average with that W\L ratio. A couple of good hooks, a couple of good songs. Dry Your Eyes is a nice rap\pop song, it might be the standout song for me. The best thing about this is the continuation of the narrative throughout the songs, so that later songs have more emotional value.

Hated this album until I reached 'dry your tears'. I still am not a fan but i realize it's elevated beyond its contemporaries and should be regarded as highly as it is despite my personal view. The final track elevates it even further and holds a message that should resonate easily with the listener.

Brummie legends did disappoint :(

sorry i know theres classics on here but i did not enjoy it lol

En arbejdeklasse opera som blander UK-garage/2 step, rap og spoken word, grime og brit rap. Det er en lang sammenhængende historie om en normal britisk dude som misser busser og ser tv om aftenen drikker øl og bliver sorget og skal deal med sorg. Vokalerne er nærmest talt (spoken word) det blev lavet i en tid hvor UK garage stadig var ved at finde fæste så jeg formoder det er derfor det er sådan alternativt/eksperimentalt. synes egentlig det er meget sjovt og godt, men det er ikke mig. Jeg ville ikke sidde og lytte meget til det her tror jeg. Så det får en 2'er for opmærksomheden fordi det teknisk set er bedre end en 3'er.

It’s ok

I had this album in my early 20s on CD. I don’t enjoy his flow and most of the sounds just are… noises. Like it’s not pleasant to listen to.

I can’t believe I actually liked this at the time, I’ve not listened in a good 20 years so I guess it was fleeting. It was popular and a bit different at the time, and being a concept album made it stand out a bit more but in listening now, it’s a poorly executed mess of an album where he loses a grand and finds it again whilst in between that, portrays a character that you simply don’t care about. So revisiting this and yep, it’s not for me - I generally hate garage and a lot of the “singing” or “rapping” here as it’s terrible. Blinded By the Lights is just about the only decent track. Overall I’m not sure it has stood the test of time.

Bleh 2/5

bonus star for the laugh

Not my style

Gran forma de contar una historia y dar el mensaje que necesitamos todos: Solo tú estarás para ti, todos tienen sus propios horizontes, pensamientos y problemas, a quién más le debes importar es a ti mismo. Cuídate La producción es buena y experimenta con varios ambientes para darle sentido a la letra y que combine con la música de manera intrigante. La fluidez del artista es muy incómoda, no va tan bien con las pistas, pero siento que es a propósito, es una persona que en la mayoría de la historia está bajo los efectos de bebida o algún tipo de droga, los que suenan más conscientes o "mejor" son las colaboraciones de artistas. En resumen, el proyecto tiene un objetivo, me gustaron 4 de las 11 canciones para escuchar de vez en cuando, no creo que escucharía todo de nuevo, pero no me arrepiento de haber escuchado este tipo de música experimentando con ese tipo de flow algo forzado pero con una idea detrás.

This is not to my taste at all. 2⭐ "A Grand Don't Come For Free" was critically adored upon it's release. Aside from "You're fit and you know it" and "Dry Your Eyes", I didn't understand the fuss then, and I don't understand it now. The remaining tracks just don't match up to those two songs. Perhaps its charms are lost on me? I think it's meant to be understated, with just enough musicality to hold the vocal narrative together. But to me it is just uninspired and repetitive. The biggest issue, for me, are the vocals. They just don't appeal to me. Vocally, it's a guy (Mike Skinner) talking in an accent like mine, and I don't even like my voice when I hear it played back! The lyrics/rhymes are largely hackneyed. Musically, it lacks imagination, is one paced, and dull. There is little melody. Would I buy this album? No. Would I listen to this album again? No. 1 "It Was Supposed to Be So Easy" - 1 2 "Could Well Be In" - 1 3 "Not Addicted" - 1 4 "Blinded by the Lights" - 1 5 "Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way" - 2 6 "Get Out of My House" (featuring MC C-Mone) - I much prefer MC C-Mone. - 2 7 "Fit but You Know It" - The best song so far. Some humour matches his vocal styling much better. This has a whiff of New Wave about it, in the style of Jilted John. - 4 8 "Such a Twat" - 1 9 "What Is He Thinking?" (featuring Wayney G) - 1 10 "Dry Your Eyes" - This was the other hit. There's actually some melody, both vocally and musically. - 3 11 "Empty Cans" - 1 Total - 18 Average - 1.64

I simultaneously dislike and somehow enjoy this album. A very confused 2/5

Pretty fun and some good tracks with a unique sound to them. The rap is too talky for me.

Not my thing, but at least he does all on his own

En gromlåt. Mye surt ellers. Litt slitsomt, artig innimellom. Meh.

There's some good instrumentals here but the monotone, half-spoken, half-rapped vocals are tough to get used to. Blinded by the Light is worth it though, for the stabbing synths and backing female vocal over a broken up drum beat. The other two singles are maybe the best of the rest, especially the emotional Dry Your Eyes. It's not enough to save it. Sorry.

I kind of like the concept: a chapter in the life of some random idiot. The story proves you can't really fix stupid but, money makes everything feel better. The laughable execution borders on entertaining in a juvenile but inoffensively bad way. It's really quite shit. But British rap without a single "bruv" is remarkable in at least that way. All-in-all, it's shit but my god don't you know it.

- boring ... so much better out there from this time period. Why? -

oh woaw, that I was not prepared for. definitely a vibe, but most sounds are almost ear torture. Fit but you know it surprisingly really good, the rest not so much.

Oef, ik kan me heel erg goed voorstellen dat dit een van de laagst gerate albums op deze site is. Mike Skinner heeft een ontzettend... Interessante manier van rappen. Ik ben er zeker ook niet altijd fan van, maar bij nummer als Blinded By The Lights hoor je wat er mee bedoeld word. Namelijk een soort glitchy hiphop rap over een dubby achtige beat. Je moet er van houden, ik doe dat soms. Maar het grootste deel? pfoee, het is lastig hier door heen te komen. Mike zn manier van rappen is gewoon nauwelijks op de beat. Nauwelijks op de maat. Zn raps gaan voornamelijk over een soort ontzettende Engelse loser. Is het een conceptalbum? Is Mike een lul? Ik heb eerlijk waar geen idee... Ok, rond Fit but you know it denk ik het toch zeker te weten: Dit is een soort parodie op een English Lad. En het is misschien iets te goed gelukt. Dit hele album zwalgt in zelfmedelijden, maar dat is meteen ook het concept. Tenminste... Dat hoop ik dan. Sommige beats zijn echt dramatisch. Sommige raps zijn verschrikkelijk, Mike is echt lastig om te tolereren soms... Maar toch, maar toch zijn er een paar highlights, en dan inderdaad vooral de 'hits'. Maar nee, ik durf te zeggen dat ik 100 hiphop albums kan noemen die ik persoonlijk beter vind dan deze. Smaak is persoonlijk, laten we maar zeggen. FAVO: BLinded by the lights, Fit but you know it,

funny

I really wanted to like this so much more than I did. This project is great because it exposes us to so much stuff that is different. And this is definitely different. A British rap outfit doing a concept album about a random dude who gets dumped and is sad about it. You don't get a lot of breakup songs about sad dudes. And the guy is painfully normal. There are like 5 songs where he is upset because his TV is broken. But the vocals are bad. For every one clever rhyme pair, there are about eight that are awful. The staccato delivery ("SHAH...GING") was off-putting. Bad clichés. By the end, I was hoping he would fall in love with the TV guy. How would these songs work in a concert? "This next song is about a character, see, and he's having a whinge about his broken telly. But it all comes together in a song later on that we probably won't play at this concert." Anyway. I was entertained. And even impressed. But not by the music.

I've never heard of The Streets or this album before, but that's definitely an intriguing cover. Before taking a peek at the reviews, I had no idea what genre this album was, but now I feel a bit foolish that I didn't guess that it was rap; The Streets would certainly be a weird name for a jazz ensemble or a bluegrass band. Speaking of the reviews, they don't give me much hope that I'll enjoy this album, but I'll do my best to give this a fair shake! Right off the bat, I really hated this album. If the whole album was going to be like this, then these reviews really undersold how bad this album was. I hated the beats, I hated his accent, and I hated his storytelling. The flow felt like some sort of fibonacci sequence or something; there was no pattern to the bars at all, and the vocal overdubs were abysmal. What did I do to deserve this? Thankfully though, the second song was infinitely better. The piano, drum, and bass were all solid, and I liked the backing vocals too. But on the third song, this album was back on the downswing. I couldn't stand the robotic vocal delivery, and the beeping in the background is really annoying. The fourth song put me back on the love-hate seesaw. I liked the pulsing beat and the backing vocals. There was an atmosphere to this song that I enjoyed; it matched the cover art really well, which I liked. From there, the album more or less evened out in terms of quality. There was definitely still some stuff that I didn't like ("Fit But You Know It" was really annoying, the whole 'roach and a spliff' bit on "Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way" felt juvenile), but there was also some stuff that I enjoyed (the strings on the last two tracks were really good). The overall concept of this album was really interesting, but I just wasn't drawn in enough to this album to care about the characters or the story, and I found myself pretty disinterested in it over the last half. While this album was built on a unique idea, the final product was very uneven in terms of overall quality.

I listened to one song and concluded I absolutely could not work while listening to this so maybe I'll come back and listen properly later

Most are really not what I'm into. Mixing ok.

Blinded by the Lights was ahead of its time, and the last half of Empty Cans is pretty beautiful. Unfortunately, it's just musically not enjoyable for most of it, and the kind of homebrew mixing quality sounds more suitable for a website like Newgrounds than standing among the best 1001 albums.

Answers that age old question: what if Michael Caine made a hip hop record?

No. Cannot do it.

Just not all that good, I don't understand the hype on the wiki.

Favorites: Blinded by the Lights, Dry Your Eyes, Empty Cans Wasn’t a fan of this one. I thought the vocal mixing was way off and it sounded jarring against the production, and the hooks just annoyed me. Guess UK hip hop isn’t my thing.

This is not very good. He shouldn’t sing. The rapping is an acquired taste I haven’t acquired yet. The samples seem out of sync sometimes. But it’s different. Different for a reason (normal people wouldn’t think it’s good enough to be released), but I can imagine some people like it because it is. I only liked one song: not addicted

This whole thing is hilariously dumb. Very excited by the time i got to Dry Your Eyes, not because it’s a great song but just because I knew I was very near the end

Listened to about two songs before quitting. This sounds like a British kid released his music on SoundCloud. Production sounds so amateur. Weird

2 songs worth ur while here.

Mike Skinner is such a parody of himself haha. Non-Brits must be like ?????. Dry Your Eyes always reminds me of my mum - good nostalgia value Why is Original Pirate Material not on this list instead. I really like The Streets but I can't pretend this is a necessary or great album album.

Not my thing

I left my first listening thinking that this album is a bit messy. The choruses fail to be catchy, and I say fail because I could feel they were trying. The beats and the singing didn't at anything to the experience. What I heard is that there's great lyricism, which I totally missed and I don't really want to put myself through this experience again...

2/3

ovo je bilo toliko ogromno I popularno, ali meni oduvijek uzasno grata zivce

Sounds the way British food tastes

Maybe if I pay attention to the story more it would get a 3

Gracias, pero NO

Meh.

A slice of life about a British loser hooligan type who loses money and his girlfriend. Almost ironically bad lyrics, beats, and production. not great but probably a pretty realistic depiction of that style of life in the early 00s. 2/5

British hip-hop? You gotta be kidding me... 2 stars. I could've died before hear that for sure.

You can't blame Mr Skinner for creating something unique and recognizable. But is it good? I was annoyed by The Streets and the "Mockney" accent back in the days. I am still now. It's not just that though. Especially the music on the hooks sounds like bratty teenagers who can't hold a single note play around with their keyboards. And for what? A story between two lovers who don't like each other anyway? It all feels too forced and any good idea is instantly buried by some other shit.

Dude talking tired raps With a stoic expression And whatever beats

Interesting concept, mediocre listening experience

As rap and hip hop albums go this one is quite palatable to me. In fact I actually possess it having bought it cheap from a charity shop. There are one or two melodic tunes on it which I can relate to. Chiefly I suppose Dry Your Eyes. Didn’t realise or know that this album was conceived as a rap opera. Puts a different slant on it but it ain’t no Tommy or Quadrophenia. Mildly amused by the comments of my fellow American 1001’s who seem to complain about the Englishness of this album. The lack of gangland culture, misogyny, knife killing and boasting about penis size actually endears me to this album. 2.5/5 27/3/25

I want to be fair to this album, an album that is definitely one of the most unique on this list. But I couldn't enjoy it because of the British accent. I mean, I found other reasons to dislike it! For one, A Grand Don't Come for Free, which is a very true album title, isn't exactly a rap opera but so much as a spoken word album with bits of electronic added. The vocals were either out of tune or not singing/rapping. Like, would we really call this music? That said, I do love a concept album. The story kept my attention.

It's kind of like British spoken word over half-baked beats? It wasn't the worst, but it definitely seemed a little flat overall and wasn't incredibly listenable. Certainly a unique listen, but unique isn't always a good thing.

It's somewhere between awful and "well, not that terrible"

crazy british. this album could be pretty good when the delivery was not that sloth. felt really tiring but sonically it has so much more potential. Should re record it with more energy imo. (2.5/5.0)

2,5

This isn't for me

Two hits doesn't make an album.

White British rap. I know some people love it, but I can't wrap my head around it.

Rap with an English accent is just rap with another name. And why do all these rap artists think music is a radio play? Just no.

Interesting concept, and a completely unfamiliar album for me. I don't plan on listening to it again. Nor do I plan to adopt "Fair Play" as a saying, as featured in every song.

Overall was just dreadful, barely gets to 2-stars for originality

This isn't the worst album in the world but it has no business on this list. None. There are so many great bands with no albums on this list and we get this nonsense instead. I'm giving it a 2 because it's not it's fault it's on this list and it's not totally unlistenable (unlike Robert Wyatt who remains the garbage barometer to which all other albums on this list are still compared) but its still just completely forgettable. Maybe just change the name to 1001 greatest albums as they occur to a British guy.

It's possible this Just Wasn't My Thing(tm), but besides a track or two, nothing really stuck with me.

don't hate it, don't love it 5/10

clunky

Starting out I thought "well I've never heard something quite like this before" and was slightly taken with the unfolding story. As the album went on, not evolving into anything, you know, better or more interesting, and the "concept" likewise offering nothing of substance, I slipped from mild curiosity to disinterest to active dislike. Unfortunately even the moments of valid, wry social commentary sink under the stilted delivery. On a little bit of a second listen maybe that's a little harsh, but man, this isn't good.

Some fun talk singing here. Lyrics are fun and musically it’s like if Ross from Friend’s had talent. 2.5 goin fown.

Not really for me at all. BUT, another reviewer claims that Original Pirate Material is good though. Maybe I'll listen to that. Empty Cans reminds me of Postal Service

This shit is hilarious and it really saves the entire album, can't really hate an album when you are smiling through the entire thing because of the immense amount of british energy. (Would be a sin to give this more than two stars tho.)

Did not love this album. Sounds like it had a big grime influence though. Its giving a British football lad taking the piss out of rap on a microphone in the pub. And maybe that’s the point?

Rap in slo-mo.

Haven't checked out OPM which might be a better place to start, but idk

I feel like I need to listen to the actual story of the album

It's pretty bad. Maybe can see how this was influential, love the subject matter but the voice is just too grating and uneven. Loaded with dense slang and British street scum vibes that I could maybe appreciate if I didn't have no context for it. Musically it's meh and the recording quality is also meh.

I was avoiding this album. The streets are so uniquely British that I have no way of really understanding how this is supposed to be listened to. That being said it's incredibly well produced and the lyrics and sounds of life are quite effective. But it all just comes off as a really corny musical. Feels very much outside looking in and really inauthentic. But maybe that's how British listen to rap?

I'll never understand The Streets' appeal. Maybeyou have to be British to get it, idk. Musically it's fine but not stellar. File under "Not for Me" but also not wretched. 2.5

Didn't like it that much

Fit But You Know It and Dry Your Eyes were massive when this album came out Would I enjoy the rest of this album? No, no I would not 2 stars for those songs The rest of this is the sound of the guy I walk away from in the pub

The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free Apparently this is one of the best rap albums of the year according to critics, even though Madvillainy was also made that same year... As a hiphop fan, that first song really gave a bad impression to what I was about to listen, thankfully though, the second half made the album a little bit more bearable to listen. Lyrically speaking, this album tells an interesting story, and while it sounded good on paper, the execution on it was not very good. His rapping was very monotous and didn't have much substance, considering that at that time even british rappers were able to sound interesting, while telling great stories as well. At least the lyrics save this album from being bad otherwise, because this album is, okay... 1.- It Was Supposed to Be so Easy = 3/10 2.- Could Well Be In = 6/10 3.- Not Addicted = 5/10 4.- Blinded by the Lights = 7/10 5.- Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way = 6/10 6.- Get Out of My House = 4/10 7.- Fit but You Know It = 7/10 8.- Such a Twat = 5/10 9.- What Is He Thinking? = 7/10 10.- Dry Your Eyes = 8/10 11.- Empty Cans = 8/10 FINAL SCORE = 6/10

Immediately no...

I have a lot to say about this one. I was warned that there was a comically bad album coming, and during the first track, I knew it was this one. By the end of the first track, I was laughing at how absurd and disjointed it sounded. But then the underlying instrumental started getting catchier. And after reading on Wikipedia that this was designed to tell a story, I started paying closer attention as each song progressed. Even though this album is horrible from a musical perspective, it ended up keeping me engaged more than any 1 I've heard on this list. And that has to count for something.

This was a toss up between 1 and 5. Each track from the start, what style is this? Is it a hip hop variant? Is it some EDM/drum and bass thing? Spoken word, atonal verses with a vocoder, story telling, it was odd but somehow enjoyable. Get Out Of My House pushed it to the good side, but even if I liked what they were doing, it was repetitive with all 11 tracks being essentially the same shtick.

I remember listening to this for the first time when it came out and thinking it might be a modern classic. A concept album for beginners; pretty straightforward story, easy to follow, written in modern English and sprinkled with humour. With a happy ending, to boot. A fairly accurate snapshot of life in 2004. Not my life, though. The humdrum life of a bored druggie whose daily highlights include monging out on the sofa, cheating on his girlfriend and getting into drunken scraps on a night out. Listening to it 20 years on, unfortunately all I can muster is cringe. It has not aged well. Even the beats and Mike's rapping at one time seemed fresh and a bit different but in the cold light of day you have the sound of someone who can't rap, talking through the tracks with poor sense of rhythm and a lack of poetic nuance. He even struggles to hit some notes within his own songs. It's your song. Why not change the pitch instead of just accepting that you'll sing it badly?? Fit But You Know It was always the most fun moment, a bit of a working-class 'Parklife' for the garage generation, but its inane lyrics have caught up with it and rendered it skippable. I'm embarrassed to risk my children hearing this album, sadly. I can't slate it completely because it was something at the time, but that moment has passed and it's something different now. Something I don't really care to listen to anymore.

• 2/5 • I like this genre of hip hop. I don’t like this album. • The tracks generally have good beats, hooks and production • The flow, when its not strained, is pedestrian • The lyrics bounce between insipid and inane. The tracks are reminiscent of Kate Tempest, but he’s no poet . . .

Really just some Cockney guys kind of talking. Doesn’t really make for a good album.

Awww, baby's first mixtape! The beats are amateur, the spitting sucks, the lyrics bore. Dry Your Eyes was a bright spot, and Empty Cans was a nice narrative payoff for enduring that drag.

Looking back on yesterday’s listen and this album didn’t leave much of an impression on me at all. Not terrible, but I couldn’t relate to much of the subject matter and remember thinking this is kinda lame…

Interesting lyrics but his voice lacks emotion.

Mid?

I don't like his quirky delivery, but an okay British hiphop album. 2.5 stars

What is this? lol

Great story, average music, terrible vocals. It ended up being easier to just read lyrics to all the songs intead of listening to them. I don't think that's a sign of good album.

nah sorry Ill give a 2 for the benefit of the doubt bc I didn't try with this album

weird

From his rented room in Brixton, London, Mike Skinner championed the underground garage sound and furthered UK hiphop on his first album Original Pirate Material. It was here that the Streets would become a focal point for modern UK hiphop, particularly in the 2000s. Those outside of urban UK centers may not be familiar with the subculture, but I was provided a primer via BBC3's comedy mocumentary People Just Do Nothing, which somehow landed on Canadian Netflix. Having binged the series a few years ago, the underground UK intersection of EDM and hiphop exposed me to garage, jungle, and grime. Skinner comes directly from this subculture and understands the importance as an MC in a country where hiphop is not nearly as dominant as the US. Regardless, the importance of Original Pirate Material cannot be understated as a product of the urban UK subculture. A Grand Don't Come For Free is the follow-up album. The Streets puts more focus on purely hiphop rather than pushing garage alongside it. It highlights Skinner's delivery on the mic which is, uh, distinct. Not only does his chav accent particularly prominent throughout, but his flow comes across as clumsy and unrefined as he struggles through each bar. At times it seems almost comedic, as if Skinner is purposefully delivering his lines like that for a laugh. I can't say for certain if he's playing a character or not, but A Grand Don't Come For Free does not land for me as a hiphop album.

Another one I haven't ever heard of. Brittish rap? This intro on the first track is cool. Yeah I don't know. It was okay. 2 Stars.

Rap opera concert gone wrong??? Was very strange listen, did not enjoy

Pretty o.k. and listenable for a hip-hop album. Strong two stars. 2,5

After the first couple of tracks, I found myself scratching my head. I couldn't tell if the frontman was rapping or conversing. But the whole discussion he was having with his girlfriend in "Get Out Of My House" was quite annoying. Although the album doesn't have to be completely relevant to me in every way for me to enjoy it, I had a hard time to connecting to this. There's a joke about "Cotton-Eye Joe" is what would happen if you give a redneck meth and a drum machine. This felt like if you gave a limey a pint of Guinness and a drum machine. NEXT. Top track: "Blinded By The Lights"

Fit but You Know It is great, but the rest is just okay. The style is definitely unique for its vintage, but I honestly wasn't excited when The Streets came out, and I'm still not.

Every song by the streets…….woke up, went to the pub, saw a bloke I didn’t want to, took some drugs, watched the football, did some gambling, went home, had a row with my girlfriend, went to bed sad…….is that relatable?….i feel like it should more be, woke up, did park run, had a coffee, went to a natural, organic wine bar, had a lovely pet nat, walked home, had a herbal tea, watched strictly, laughed with my wife, went to bed indifferent……. I can’t be the only one? Surely? It’s just lazy! Sounds like some bloke in a cap down the pub that’s had one too many callings and spotted the karaokes set up but thought they’d do ‘their own stuff’. 2.2

It's notable mainly for it's concept, telling the mundane story, which is probably an accurate account of inner city Britain, with each song recalling an event, much like a chapter in a novel. Unfortunately, the record just plain doesn't work, mainly because of the really annoying vocals/rap/singing clashing with the ok-ish musical segments. One of the pitfalls of technology is its accessibility, which means any old plonk can come along and record a record in their flat, regardless of actual musical/vocal ability. The net result being a dire release such as this, which bafflingly, people actually bought. An extra star for the vision and ambition, sadly not realised in the end product.

Poor loved the first album, however this was mushy and musically dull.

Interesting in that it's a concept album, so worth a listen right? Well, it's a bit too whiney and wasn't all that interesting. 1.5

Never really got it, and now I can see why. It's self-congratulatory, indulgent, and overly impressed with itself in a humble-brag kind of way, and "Fit but You Know It" sounds like an incel's cry for help now. "Blinded by the Lights" is admittedly pretty good. BUT, I do like the skag-addled Britrap that The Streets inspired: Sleaford Mods and Benefits, which are much more socially switched-on and authentically grimy.

Never understood the hype here… sorry

I’m with the Americans. This is pretty dreadful. Managed half but that was enough, perhaps unfairly. I don’t hate it at all, I really like Skinner as a person and I like how he captured that entire time and generation. Tells a good story about mundane life as a youngun in the early 00s, and everything sounds incredibly authentic and from the heart. It just really, really isn’t for me. Borderline novelty at times.

I'm with Graeme and the Yanks here - I really didn't enjoy this. Too abrupt and caustic. Repetitive, his delivery is exactly the same for every song and I don't find his lyrics particularly interesting or entertaining. Fit But Don't You Know It is fine, I suppose, but only because of nostalgia. +1 nostaliga points.

Lucky to get 2 stars for this mostly shit effort

Below average concept with a horrible execution. WASPY dude rapping off beat on some average at best beats isn't a recipe for success.

I spent the 2000s in the UK and I kinda remember the short lived belief that a new genre had been invented. Aged pretty badly. A couple high points, but These guys would probably prefer to be left off of the list so this embarrassing album could be forgotten

It could be better if every song was about a minute shorter. I see what it's going for, it's just not enjoyable

Nice concept to tell a story but pretty boring to listen to. Dry your eyes mate, there’s plenty more music to enjoy elsewhere.

I remember listening to mostly the two hits of that album „Fit but You Know It“ and „Dry Your Eyes“ as a teenager and was excited to listen to the whole album again, but to be honest: Almost every other song didn‘t excite me very much. It‘s mostly a british dude talking over some badly aged beats. Maybe you need to be british to feel it.

The best of the tracks sound like something a stand-up comedian who also makes music might write, but more professional. The rest are just mediocre pop-rap about relationships.

WOW, this is unique. Afraid it's gonna become redundant sounding tho... 2 stars

# Playlist track - Fit But You Know It # Notes - One of the worst albums I've ever heard. - Opening track would be enough to make me quit the entire album if I wasn't listening for this project. One of the worst chorus ever. - Pretty much every track flows in a weird way, but not like in a cool broken-but-it-makes-sense like in some prog rocks and jazz. Just wonky. - The only reason this album gets one star is because there are some very interesting beats scattered throughout. It's just a shame that we cannot enjoy them without the horrible vocals laid on top.

An extra star for the attempt to tell a coherent story. But every other aspect is just awful.

Muito ruim 👎

Sigh. No. Sterile. Passionless. Dull.

I discovered The Streets when, on spec, I bought a 7” single of When You Wasn’t Famous, off their 3rd album, The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living (2006)from the discount bin at Redeye Records. So I didn’t know the A Grand Don’t Come For Free CD (2004) until I found it in an op-shop much later. I have to say that the opening track, It Was Supposed To Be So Easy, is very reminiscent of When You Wasn’t Famous. I had not played A Grand etc. for years & I have to say that I don’t think it’s aged well. Mike Skinner’s voice & delivery are just a bit too repetitive for me.

I am actually having a very difficult time rating this one. I've only listened to it all the way through one time. Through so much of it, I was thinking "I do not like this." I don't dislike the sort of "awkward speaking" style of rap(especially with his accent,) and I think it gives the album a lot of character that I really did like. The concept wasn't even bad! I'd assume it hits much harder if you're from the UK. The last song, where it presents 2 resolutions to the narrative is really clever, and emotionally affecting in a way, it was the best one on the album by far for me. But there's something about the album that stopped me from being all in. I love sort of funny but emotionally raw rap. I love concept albums. I even love it when rappers are British. But I don't know... felt like there was something on every track that annoyed me. The beats... nothing to write home about, man, I don't know. Got too repetitive. Overuse of hooks. I was doing some research on this and everyone seems to love it. I think I really just must be missing something here. Maybe it takes a few tries. On first impression though, I'm just not completely sold.

Great album cover, but too bad it houses shit music I want nothing to do with.

just can't get into the purposefully off-beat rapping and somewhat out of tune tone of voice 😭 the only songs i tolerated were "get out of my house" and "fit but you know it" (which i had heard before and thought was kind of funny), and "dry your eyes". i definitely see the comedic appeal in some of these songs (is that the goal? to be funny? or do i just think British accents are funny when paired with rapping?) but it's just not that enjoyable for me to listen to especially not the entirety of the album. i gave each song a chance but ended up skipping all of them partway through.

BORING

Not really my style but I can understand why it’s liked it is goodly executed and i like the accent

This was a rough, rough listen for me. Didn't jive with my morning, didn't catch me. I appreciate the art behind the story, and I don't mind concepts.

I remember when that came out, and I don’t remember liking it then. So not much has changed.

A very British rap album. Not particularly good but at least not full of violence and misogyny in every track.

Non parte bene. Dovrebbe essere un'opera corale, ma il trait-d-union è che tutte le canzone sono dimenticabili. Si salva "Fit but you know it"

2 cause i was entertained

My people failed me

Parts of this album were 0/5 and parts were 4/5. An interesting listen.

WTF was that? I understand that it was supposed to be a story of some sort but that may have been the most ridiculous thing I have ever listened to. Going to give it a 2 because it made me laugh at some points because of how strange it was

I thought it was just another hidden, unknown British stuff that is so common on the 1001 list. Indeed, it is, but I liked the concept of rap opera, so I'll give it credit.

Listened Before? N What an odd little record. Never thought I'd listen to a white guy with a cockney accent rap for an hour but here we are. I do love a concept album but I can't identify with this one. I think I'll give this one a miss for the rest of my life. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Blinded by the Lights

Cockney guy reads the diary of his boring and pointless life in a rhythmless monotone over sick beats. Gave it an extra star because it is truly like nothing I've heard before.

L'histoire de l'album est marrante mais difficile a suivre quand tu fais autre chose

This is definitely better than a lot of the reviews, but more from the, I like the concept and the story more than musically this is interesting and complex. I only knew the song Fit and You Know It from this. That’s the best track by leaps and bounds because it has a good chorus. This is basically spoken word, and it never evolves or really gets going. I wonder what this would be like with someone talented rapping it.

Really starting to question some of these choices. At first, I almost thought it was a parody album. Maybe it's just not being immersed in UK rap culture.

This is going to sound stupid and contradictory given I love the song Blinded by the Lights, but I appreciate it’s a concept album made for entertainment but it comes across as so disingenuous, it may well all be true but it feels very fake. But Blinded by the Lights is cracking, I can’t reiterate this enough

Everything, from the flow to the beats to the features, was laughably bad. I couldn't take this seriously. Edit -- While this was bad, it was fun to listen to. Bumping to 2.

Nice concept, good listen at parts, funny here and there. But when he sings it drives me mad. Tough to get through overall.

Just when I start thinking \"okay this track isnt so bad\", it gets terrible. If it wasnt for the track Dry Your Eyes, this would be a 1 star

No more rap, please. Eps! This is a little bit more elegant!

This is fairly awful, although some of the lyrics are amusing.

I see what the dudes shooting for but musicals are already bad and with what seems to be a sorry attempt and masking low effort and something artistic, this is still just bad

Not for me

A lot of the beats are very stripped down and dated. It hits its stride here and there, but I think what really ruins this for me is when the vocalist(s) sing along with these crude, dated synth melodies. It's absolutely unmusical. I friggin hate it.

Riktigt unikt album med två helt mixade sounds som kanske inte är mixade av en anledning 💀

Lyrics w attitude. Musically not interesting to me

This man just whined for an hour and I listened to it all. He has no flow it’s like listening to Christopher walken rapping

maybe the worst hip hop album i have ever heard

The Streets va ici réaliser son rêve d'enregistrer un album entier sans aucune préparation ni matériel ni technique ni rien du tout.

Très touchant de la part de Robet d'avoir donné sa chance au foyer pour jeunes de sa ville, malheureusement leur présence dans les 1001 albums est difficile à justifier.

I feel like this could have been a great album, but the jerky lyrics and off-key singing just took me out of it.

It was kinda alright. Loved fit but you know it though

Вообще не мой жанр

Not for me

Joe Fazer gym influencer type puhevika kaveril Hyviä kappaleita ja hyvä että uskalletaan pitää oma soundi.. siitä propsit.... Edelleen syntymävuosi häpäistään.... se harmillista..

Lots of VERY off-time rapping. Is it intended to sound amateurish and shitty? I really can’t tell. I do appreciate the narrative nature of the album, so it’s at least interesting enough to warrant an extra star for that.

I have to admit, I don't think I get The Streets. You would think that if you are adopting this arrhythmic, monotonous flow, you would compensate with witty lyrics or intelligent writing.

First time with this album and I can't help that I'm missing something from the early '00s zeitgeist to completely understand. After listening, I put on the Streets first album Original Pirate Material and things made more sense. The first album was clearly UK garage/grime and carried well versed wordplay. This sets up the second album as a more ambitious undertaking, a spoken word concept album. While impressive in concept, I felt the album falls flat, especially when you see what Mike Skinner is capable of as an artist. Wordplay feels stretched and hollow. Tracks often feel like the non musical interludes in the Wall, hokey and forced. There are highlights on the album. I enjoyed Fit but you know it and the immediate follow, Such a Twat. The final track is one of the better tracks as well and does a nice job of wrapping up the story. I don't regret listening and will likely listen to other albums from the Streets but I can't say I enjoyed this album.

I think I would enjoy this more if I were British but I dk how to classify this album

Ikkje så bra, men kudos for at dei holdt seg til 50 min