Sayonara.
Konnichiwa is the fourth studio album by British rapper Skepta. The title is the greeting "hello" in the Japanese language. After numerous delays, it was released on 6 May 2016 by Boy Better Know. Konnichiwa features guest appearances from Jme, Boy Better Know, D Double E, Novelist, Wiley, Chip, Pharrell Williams, ASAP Nast and Young Lord. Konnichiwa was executively produced by Skepta himself, who produced all but three songs on the album. Pharrell also worked on production with Skepta on the album. Konnichiwa was originally announced in early 2013, yet suffered from numerous delays and reworking. In November 2014, Skepta stated that Konnichiwa was to be released in March 2015, however this release date was delayed once again. In April 2016, Skepta restarted the album campaign by announcing the finalised release date. The album was launched with a party in Tokyo on 5 May 2016 arranged and broadcast globally by live streaming platform Boiler Room. Konnichiwa peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. The album also charted in Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. It was supported by four singles, including the top 40 entries "That's Not Me", "Shutdown" and "Man". Konnichiwa is certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The album received acclaim from critics as well, who praised its role and success in the resurgence of grime music and its cultural identity. It was included in numerous end-of-year lists for best albums of 2016 by many publications, including NME, The Guardian and Apple Music, who named the album as the best of 2016. Konnichiwa also received numerous accolades, including the 2016 Mercury Prize, which beat the likes of David Bowie and Radiohead.
Sayonara.
Constantly amused by American adhering so closely to their stereotypes in these reviews! Absolutely deserves it's place on this list because: 1. It's fucking awesome 2. It's took grime to the next level commercially, creating space for the UK rap derivatives that are still dominating the UK charts to this day 3. The list is not an American list.
Grime is a fun genre and this is a good album. As with most rap, I really don't need the skits. I get it, it's a fundamental part of the genre. But really, I cannot imagine a single person on the planet earth who is like "oh yeah I loved that skit off that rap album" CUT EM OUT OF ALL RAP ALBUMS
The ting goes skrrrahh (Ah) Pap, pap, ka-ka-ka (Ka-ka) Skidiki-pap-pap (Pap) And a pu-pu-pudrrrr-boom (Boom) Skya (Ah) Du-du-ku-ku-dun-dun (Dun) Poom, poom You don' know
I'm glad that's over. At first I thought, ok, I can get through this, it's not too horrible, but as it went on I started hating it more and more. I don't enjoy rap to begin with but something about British rap just makes me cringe. 2 stars for the effort.
Konnichiwa. Well, alright, that's it. The final album. Maybe a more poetic end to the journey would have been a British psychedelic post-punk album from the 80s featuring cameos by Neil Young and Elvis Costello. But I guess some weird album I've never heard of, where the only review I can muster is the 500th new way of saying "Who fucking cares, 2/5", is the second best thing. See you all in the next life. Thanks for all the great albums I've discovered through this list, all the hilarious and interesting reviews I've had the pleasure to read, the fun Reddit discussions, and thank you to everybody who liked my dumb drivel enough to give it a thumbs up - especially for all the love that "Kollaps" review got (still the lowest rated album though 😞). I've now heard all of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, but the most important thing, the thing I'm most glad I got to hear before I died, was the story about the boys in Dresden getting head from a fat goth lady. Who fucking cares, 2/5. Sayonara.
Absolute trash that this album is on here and many American hip-hop/rap albums are missing. I don’t need to listen to it just because it’s British. Such a biased author. It’s disgusting how biased this list it towards British albums that are average at best.
At first, I was like, "Hey, that's different and interesting" and then I was like, "hmmm, these are all starting to sound the same" and then I was like, "Skits? Really? I thought we were past this as a genre." Overall, it was exactly alright. The good balances the bad and averages out to a "meh" 3-star score.
Made me feel like I was in a Guy Ritchie movie
Lyrics were meh, British accent - noice
I could not wait for this to be done. Not only bad. Intrusive. Obnoxious.
This style of music is just so uninteresting to me
I really don't understand why this is on the list, it adds nothing that wouldn't be added by any other mid-10s trap album. The songs are average at best and downright cringey at worst. I don't usually agree that albums get added to the book purely because they're British, but I can't really disagree in regards to this album. I'm probably biased because I don't like the Roadman subculture which, to me, just seems to be British youths pretending to be what the American gangsta rappers of old actually were. "Trying to not get killed by police" bruh you live in London, not fucking LA.
Guess I don’t like this flavour of rap, either.
Classic grime, definite high points with Shutdown and That’s Not Me but every song slaps.
This shit hit hard as fuck. Definitely going into the rotation.
I really forgot how amazing this album is. Soooo nostalgic for me. Bangers on bangers on bangers. Amaze!!!
I'm rating it this low very begrudgingly. UK grime is so good, and this is such a poor representation of it. The highlights of this album are all songs that were originally released as one-off singles, and it shows. I think Skeptas brother JME is far more talented and releases much more interesting music than Skepta. Dizzee Rascal too. It's a shame because this album is a real nostalgia trip for me, and I don't hate it, but it should have been an EP and better albums could have taken it's place
"Two plus two is four / Minus one that's three QUICK MATHS"
Why do all Brit’s sound like wussies
Fond memories of Chad putting this on at a veeeeeery deep point of the 2016 splendor session. TRUST ME DADDY
A very fun, even if slightly dated, timestamp of 2010’s culture that will have you vibing the whole runtime. I enjoyed the singles here, even if the in between stuff was somewhat forgettable.
I listened before bed and didn't really care for it. Too much bass. But I listened again (and on a different speaker system) and liked it more. Gonna try it the next time I drive somewhere
HE SAMPLED QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
This is one I’ll have to sit in and give another listen later. I’m not super up on my Brit rap, it’s a different style, different rap scheme. I never cared for some of the other Brit rappers, but I do like this guy. The American rap influences are present with talks of gangs, bitches, drugs and arrogance. Themes I think are week and cliche, but Skepta makes up with a lot of this with nuanced skill and expertly crafted beats. I really liked Numbers. I think others would grow on me.
the skit with every other word punctuated with “fam” zeros in precisely to the year 2016. sounds like my classroom that year. especially Liam in 2nd period. i don’t know whether he said “fam” or “on god” more, but i overdosed on those words within a week
I'm a casual rap/hip hop fan at best and still just barely familiar with the grime genre. That said, I don't know enough about the genre to really assess if this is top of the top or not, but I did enjoy this album all the same.
Hab aktuell keine Motivation, gute Sachen hier zu schreiben. Fand es langweilig und eintönig. Britischer Rap klingt aber oftmals cool. Hat mich leider nicht abgeholt.
It was interesting, not really my style. One song made me stop listening to it and go find Queens of the Stone Age.
Flunssahuuruissa meni enemmän kuin ohi. Pari kertaa yritin pyöräyttää uusiksi muttei vaan tarttunut. En tiedä kummassa oli vika lopulta.
Ihan laadukas setti, mut tyyli ei mitenkään erityisesti puhutellu
I mean… meh? I find it very confusing that the album title is Konnichiwa but then it’s full of very British rap. I like the album cover though.
lol I can’t take rappers with a British accent seriously, sorry it just sounds wrong to my American ear After all, we did invent the form so can you really blame me?
Rap with British accents will just never sound right to me.
Why is there so much of this on the list? This was crap.
I don’t know much about hip hop but this is stupid.
wagwan roadmen my mum don't know your mum stop telling man you're my cousin act like a wasteman and only rate this ting 4 stars? that's not me trusssss me daddy
Probably the most important album to the entire genre of grime next to Boy in Da Corner. Extremely biased review because I was 17 when this came out, where It Ain't Safe, Shutdown, and That's Not Me were a staple of every house party I went to for my late teens. If you didn't have the privilege of hearing songs from this album at house parties you went to, you either weren't cool enough, or didn't live in AU/UK. Suck shit. I have no ills with this album, this is grime perfection. I'm not surprised this album is rated so poorly on this site. Though it's mostly yanks winging., there are some valid criticisms, but those criticisms reflect on the genre itself rather than this record. Grime isn't for everyone. That's was the whole point until Stormzy ruined it by selling out and making music with that greasy ginger cunt Ed Sheeran. Now it's a household name and the genre is ruined forever. Much like mainstream hip-hop in the US, Grime is no different nowadays. You absolutely fucked it, Stormzy. Skepta's booming voice really stands out, but it's the production that really makes this album. The latter of the half has some of the filthiest production I'd ever heard on a hip-hop song. Man, Shutdown, and ESPECIALLY That's Not Me - one of the most sampled grime songs of all time. Which itself was a sample of another early grime song. That's Not Me is probably the song that defines this album, and probably is the biggest grime song of all time up to that point. In fact, I think it still is the biggest & most impactful grime song of all time. If you can't tell, I enjoy the fuck out of that song, and considering the amount of artists that sample or rap over the beat, I dare say I'm not wrong. Like I said, grime isn't for everyone - but if you like grime, you definitely recognise that this is probably one of the most important albums to come out of the genre, if not THE most. I don't think any Grime artist has been able to replicate an album like this, nor will they. This defined what grime is at the time, and will always be remembered as so. Well deserved 5. It's a shame this is probably one of two grime albums on here, but I understand, it's not everyone's cup of marmalade or whatever the fuck it is they say. /end biased review.
I don't know anything about grime, as a white 53yr old never been my thing, but after listening to this and looking up the prison population stats and stop and search I get the anger. We live in a country that promote British values, and as a teacher I do this but these only really apply to white people. This is a well made album and dwarves 4 stars.
Don’t know anything about grime, and I always think UK rappers sound goofy at first, but this was a great listen. I loved the beats and the lyrics started to get me hooked towards the end.
Very cool
Wow. I went into this fully expecting to hate every inch of it. Loved it. skits can do one, but this is absolute hype fam
This is the most fun I had since starting this project
Blown away easy 10/10 album no skip. and epic qotsa sample in Man.
along with dizzee rascal, this álbum helped me realise that i actually quite enjoy grime. was very impressed on my first listen.
I enjoy rap/hip-hop with at least some aggression and this strikes a good balance of being passionate and a bit angry without being just gangsta' rap. I enjoy the rhymes and some of them are reasonably intelligent. The beats are also nice and punchy. I also enjoy that the lyrics have a purpose, a meaning, other than just: fuck bitches, shoot snitches, get stacks, like some rap (that is sometimes enjoyable, but in a different way). It's not the biggest 5 I've given, but I would probably recommend this one to a friend if I knew they were into this kind of stuff Standouts Konnichiwa It Ain't Safe Man Shutdown That's Not Me 5/5
Måske det bedste grime-album der findes
Strong start, I was UP from the first set of sounds, amazing repertoire and just strong energy. Loved it
muito bom
Gewoon echt goed, dikke beats, vette raps en echt anders dan wat ze in de VS maken.
Dark, clever, refreshing.
Wagwan fam, can't lie man was loving the first half of this album fam, but some of the talking parts were proper cringe blud you get me? Man took a star off for it fam, but then Shutdown and That's Not Me came on and man couldn't not give 5 stars fam, see what I'm saying fam? Big man ting.
very cool
шаг в перед. нью-йорк, я работаю в закусочной, но танцую в команде, мы мечтали, хожу в джинсовых шортах, гавайской рубашке и катаюсь на скейте и у меня всегда проводные наушники. и мне хорошо.
Dope
Gosh this is so good. I just love the way that UK hip-hop went from being the most cringeworthy thing in the world to stuff like this, which is so raw and feisty and just such an insight into that world and culture. "Shutdown" is amazing. Scary that this is getting on for 10 years old now! I am so old.
Hard as hell, one of the greats of the grime scene, amazing guest spots, important and good (not just one or the other!), absolutely brilliant
Rating: 10/10
Heel dik album
Love grime!
So so good. Ended up listening to Skepta and other english rappers all night.
OK. I guess I like grime? I very much like the rhythm of the words and the backing tracks and definitely the dialect.
Кайфово было. Качало. Переслушал еще раз. Numbers заела в голове.
woooooooooooo
Damn, this was a vibe. Really dug this one
This album was awesome. I didn't know about grime, grateful to have the chance to learn about it. Really catchy hip hop, with the songs focused largely on social commentary and internal reflections. That's spot on my taste for hip hop. 4.5 I'd say, rounded up this time.
Not my genre and nothing I heard before, but I liked it. Solid all the way through. Kind of a cross between hiphop and London rave music, ala Tricky.
Buen album de rap de uk me ha molado
The north London dialect just goes so hard in rap. The writing feels juvinile and the title track feels like a nonsequitor, but the production works well
Wagwan fam. Great energy, great flow.
It’s a go!
This album felt like the reason this exercise exists. More please.
I love British rappers! I bet I'll like this.
I'd never really given much UK hip hop or grime a chance for some reason, but wow, this is great. Propulsive beats, clever samples (queens of the stone age, nice), high energy delivery. Perfect soundtrack for my run. I even enjoyed some of the little skits which I rarely do on rap albums, the one with the American gamer edgelord was kinda funny. The two track run of Man into Shutdown made me a Skepta fan, goes hard. Wish it went a little deeper lyrically, a bit heavy on the bravado, and theres one or two flops, especially Ladies Hit Squad, but he's clearly a serious talent
British rap always has an odd sound to me for some reason. Sounds enough though.
Love the opener I think it sounds very good and skepta has some really good bars. It kind of sets the mood for the rest of the album. In my opinion the little skits at the end of songs like crime riddim bring the whole theme of the album together, that being showing the lifestyle of young people in London's streets. A very important album in the UK grime and rap scene. Only gripe I have with the album is that I feel that Ladies hit squad doesn't really appeal to me. Although I like the beat, asap nast's hook doesn't really do it for me. Overall, 8/10
Favorite Track: It Ain’t Safe
Maybe a 3
Some pretty good grime, could’ve been better liked the overall vibe. 4 stars
This goes pretty hard. I’d much prefer more British and international hip hop varieties than all the mid britpop here
I can leave the skits, as usual, but there's loads of energy and intelligence here. Really solid grime album.
Never heard of this guy before. I like the backing tracks! Smooth voice. Lyrics don’t do a ton for me but I don’t hate them either. Rap isn’t usually my thing. Apparently this is grime music, which I may have to explore because I’m kind of digging it. This is what makes this project great.
British Grime is such a treat.
It ain‘t safe for the block Not even for the coo. Skepte, eifach biz kennt vo 2-3 songs und sporadischem drischnuppere. Biz hyped gsi zum is album ihtauche und au sehr spassig gsi. Has gnosse. 4 blocks, init fam?
breeee was für eins überraschunggggg eifach drill rap ih de top 1001 albüms im clöppppp waaaaas hans sehr toll gfunde und au grad 2 mal gloset eimal diheim mit viel head boping wäredem schaffe und eimal im lidl, han mi gfühlt wie de krässischti south london roadman aer eigentlich hani nume süesshärdöpfel und gouda postet anstatt paar lüt abzoge, schade 4 flykicks in ya face till ya teeth come out bruvvvvvv
I've got a soft spot for heavily accented English rap.
This was good - would have been better without the skits.
I'm surprised how much I'm actually enjoying this album. It's not a genre that I generally was not partial to, but after a year and a half or so of listening to albums here, I'm at least able to vibe with albums like this. I wouldn't say that this album is great, but it is really enjoyable. Skits still suck ass, but the beats are steady, and the rapping is really strong. I'm also generally not a fan of over-produced music, but this honestly sits in a pretty good place. It's pretty clear that almost nothing on the album is coming from actual instruments, but the music isn't jarring or abrasive. It can sometimes be a little excessive, but never really annoying. Favorite Song(s): Konnichiwa, Man
I am so glad this album is included on the list. Grime and UK hip-hop in general deserves its place. Probably not my favorite, but it’s still pretty good. The beats are really great. The second half here is better than the first. Favorites are Konnichiwa, Ladies Hit Squad, Numbers, Shutdown, and That’s Not Me.
4/5
Surprised how much I enjoyed this, given that I don't listen to Grime, or much UK hip hop in general (apart from Little Sims). I was aware of Skepta, but I think That's Not Me was the only song I recognized. Some other good songs on here too: Shutdown, Detox, It Ain't Safe. I liked Corn on the Curb and Crime Riddim too, but found the skits a bit annoying. Great beats too, sounded really good on some bassy headphones.
I wound up really liking this once I got into it. The beats are fire. Who would’ve thought…British grime rap.
I like British rap a lot. Tiny Tempah was my first. 4 stars.
Oi bruv! I be right straight chuffed bout dis 'ere geezah Skepta's brilliant production and fire bars. Noice surprise innit?! Seriously though this one grew on me with each new production choice (YES, Queens of the Stone Age first album being sampled absolutely threw me for a loop!) Not to mention the lyrics were extremely well executed. This was about the craft and I appreciated that very much. I feel like this one has layers that could grow on you over time and I'm looking forward to digging back into it. Cheerio!
こんにちは de title reack hani jz um einiges weniger grimey gfunde alsi erwartet han AAHH jz FAM FAM FAM FAM FAM FAM FAM crime riddim gaht na dumm, de rest hetmi nanig so umghaue getting lovey dovey with the hoes😭😭 ladies hit squad kenni glaub?? find de beat sehrsehr geil I HIT THE G SPOT WHEN MY JEANS OFF WISOOOOOOOOOO ja jz hets es gad chli verkackt für mich hahaha pharrelllll puuuh die beats ich han immer s gfühl ich bruch es ziitli, bis ich mich ah grime gwöhnt han, aber denn BOUM man dumm shutdown kenni vom drey? so oder so en bangggggger bin momentan zwüsche 3 undeme 4 text me bsck wieder seeehr cool bin seeehr gspalte iwie okk ich han nomal chli drii glost, es git es 4i
Я так и знал, что топовое ревью будет на 1 звездочку с каким-нибудь кринжовым комментом про то, что хип-хоп уебская музыка. Честно сказать, "сайонара" даже вот норм, хотя, на мой взгляд, совсем незаслуженно. Альбом вплоне себе. Лучшая песня - Man.
3.7 2x liked it better than expected. never heard of this British rapper
Wow what a throwback. I learned about Skepta in 2014 and was immediately blown away with UK grime. I remember the build up to this album and listening to it the day it dropped and being impressed. There are definitely some songs that were made to be more radio-friendly and commercially successful that stray away from his previous more underground style, but nearly 10 years later this still holds up insanely well.
I'm not deep in the grime. I've listened a little and liked what I've heard. Never heard this before. Cool album cover. This has great energy. His flow is sharp. Some of these beats are so good for being so stripped down. They grab my attention in the first couple seconds and hold it. I'm not feeling Ladies Hit Squad, skits can be ignored, but most of the tracks click for me. I'd listen to some of this again.
I liked a lot actually - wouldn't say I'm a particular fan of grime but very listenable and Skepta's definitely got a more main character rap style compared to some of the collaborators on some of the songs which I enjoyed less. 2014 passed me by in a tired haze of young children so nice to revisit and enjoy the album.