Home Sweet Home

This banged. Like, it really fucking banged. Far out, what a treat. 5/5. Admittedly, this is my submission. Is it perfect? No. Is it super in places? Yes. Did it introduce my young self to the wider world of grime that I still love today? Yes. One of the most important albums in forming my taste. I'm glad I listened to it before I died

UK rap is super interesting because it leans into the electronic side more heavily than American hip hop which began by sampling soul, funk, and R&B. This key differences changes the feel of the music in an important sense. Kano spans genre (including a Black Sabbath sample), but feels most at home with industrial electronic beats. This is a great grime album and though I don't think its the best of its genre, it was still a fun listen.

What can I say...it sounded like very generic hip hop, I've heard better, I thought it might surprise me by not knowing it, but I didn't get a single track. Sorry

I hate brit rap. Hate it.

Home Sweet Home's a generous and simple slice of cake, and not just because there's one in my fridge I regret not ordering for myself. Kano flows over quite a few decades, stamping them with titular locational flair without trying the capital-letter concept emboss in a debut. The LP, then, basically bounces with energy, reasonably in-time. A promising baseline that really does stay fresh for the hour: Nice bonus decision.

I think Made In The Manor spoils some of Kano's early work because it's SO good but Home Sweet Home still has hit after hit, it's really good. The title track, Remember Me, Typical Me, 9 to 5, they're all so good, I just prefer the more refined sound and bolder production of MITM as he matured a bit, this still has some juvenile influence and that's fine, he was 18 when much of this was done and that's astounding in itself. MITM would get a 5/5, this gets a high 4.

I heard a lot of "kids these days aren't as hard as we were" and this is from the aughts. This proves that everyone thinks the kids aren't okay.

British rap always makes me smile because they really try to be socially sensible and they always seem to be from London so really it's Lond-Rap. This is like the Ceebeebies of rap. Sorry, give me Tricky any day.

This sucked. Like, it really fucking sucked. Far out, what a punish. 1/5.

I truly hated this so much. What juvenile crap is this "I can't do a 9-5 because noone has a mind like mine, noone writes lines like mine" etc. what embarrassing self congratulatory nonsense was this. This spoilt 1hr 1 minute of my holiday in Majorca

Super enjoyable. Lo-fi, playful and funny, but also mature and hard-hitting when it needs to be.

I enjoy this, and I am always a little softer on Hip-Hop, as an avid fan (and also because there are a bunch of close minded rockers on here). I do think that Dizzee Rascal has a better UK entry on here, but still a fun album.

Yeah, I can totally dig it.

Honestly, I thought this was probably getting three stars and I'd move on... But it actually slaps. I've got nostalgia for a couple of tracks, but the whole thing is great. I'm almost thinking grime moved backwards the second time round, cos this has so much more FUN.

Had never heard of this, or Kano really, but I like it a lot. UK rap is always refreshing to me. 4/5

UK hip-hop is criminally underrepresented on the list, and this would be a good option to represent it

I don’t really get much of what he’s saying, but I’m loving the vibe. Great production, stellar beats and an impeccable flow.

Refreshing to hear UK rap for a change. Usual subject matter, though. Well produced and occasionally excellent music.

Wasn't bad, wasn't great either. But I did enjoy it enough to give Kano 3 stars. Hope he can appreciate this kind gesture.

Not great. Some beats were good. Rapping I found mostly under average. The War Pigs sample was a fun surprise

Bog standard British hip hop. The kind that you don't turn off, but I cannot imagine someone paying money to go to a concert.

Some nice variety of samples in here but nothing moving the needle too far in either direction for me

Good lyrics and flow - the music though felt very generic, functional but dull. Better beats and some creative use of samples could have bumped it up a star.

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: How we livin’

I try and support UK hip hop but let's be honest this guys flows and lyrics just aren't that great. Do like the electro style beats on the album . 2.6

Hip-hop. Ni fu ni fa.

You and me sitting in a tree... ugh. I can't rate anymore.

Not bad

The UK grime rap style is a unique one compared to the various us styles but it has good lyricism. The biggest downfall I’ve always felt was the beats seem one dimensional and it makes UK rappers just sound like he’s free styling. Overall it’s a good album and for it being his first is pretty impressive too. 6.2/10

There’s the lil simz and the dizzee rascal brand of British rap. This one falls in the latter category which is a bad thing but is at least listenable (even if it still sucks) unlike dizzee rascal.

Iv watched top boy, so I know Kano as Sully, but Iv never actually listened to his music before, I’m not a massive fan of grime. But I can tolerate this, enjoyed the electro beats more than the lyrics though.

This was a cool rap debut! Always looking for more UK rappers.

Just a proper rap album, nothing less, nothing more.

Homey

Grime is such a funny genre. Why do all of these beats sound like cartoon characters slipping on ice. Much better than that godawful Dizzee Rascal album from the original list. Actually had fun with this. A pleasant surprise.

UK grime / rap. The production on this thing sounds more varied and adventurous than in the Dizzee Rascal album included in the original list. The first six cuts are terrific for that genre, and proper closer "Signs In Life" slaps as well ('Boys Love Girls" is not the real closer and just a somewhat goofy hidden / bonus track, so I kind of ignore it for my assessment...). This thing is, I found the second half of this record underwhelming to say the least -- lyrically to some extend, but most specifically musically, owing to the overeliance in cheap chiptune sound aesthetics (which aged quite poorly). And maybe there's also the fact that Kano uses so many different producers from one song to the next also turns the whole thing into an endeavor lacking in personality at some point (instead of truly surprising you when a new subgenre comes up). All of this sort of jeopardizes my initial intent to listen to the whole album all over again on day. To put it in a nutshell, "Home Sweet Home" is still a pretty good rap album. But I can't see it in my own list of 1001 Albums keepers (contrary to Little Simz or The Streets when it comes to UK hip hop). Sorry! Nice to know more about this gifted rapper, however. So thanks to whoever submitted this record! 3/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 8/10 for more general purposes. Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 7 Albums from the users list I *might* include in mine later on: 9 Albums from the users list I won't include in mine: 18 (including this one)

Rap (US or UK) is just not my genre so it's fighting a losing battle. However no skits, and his flow is good. I'm not really interested in his life (or his crew) and I find the backing tracks a bit dull. I think I prefer it over Skepta's Konnichiwa but it's still a chore. The Sabbath sample made me smile though.

This is kind of all over the place but not in a particularly good way. Not sure if he wants to murk me or make sweet love and raise my kids?

Is he the British Ludacris? (An aside: why isn’t Luda on here?) I also got flavours of Eminem. That makes sense given the year of the release. This dude feels like the new hip-hop multidimensional auteur a la Childish Gambino, save he predated Donald Glover by a decade. Ah! The Streets produced and collaborated here and Kano guest-starred on some remixes from The Street’s A Grand Don’t Come For Free. Now I’m seeing the Brit-hop pedigree.

Funny british rap

The original list only selected a couple albums to represent grime, so let's give it a another chance. Home Sweet Home was the reason for Kano's breakout success, and it's mostly alright. I don't know if it's just a cultural incompatibility issue or something but I don't fully feel UK rap like the American counterparts. Some songs better than others, but when the album is over an hour I tend to have less patience. Anyway it's fine. The Black Sabbath sample was pretty sweet though. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: Maybe! I'd like to see some drill represented so maybe UK drill would be a better option than another grime album.

Not bad for genre

Surprisingly good

Been a little while since a UK rapper came across my desk. Definitely a scene that the original list liked more than the user albums. This one's better than a fair number of the original list's picks, though.

On the first listen, it's really nice to hear some British rap. That said, the beats aren't really there for me, and I find myself having to be carried along by the flow. And that's a hard ask for over an hour. At least it isn't arrogant indie.

This was actually pretty fun and bouncy with equal parts garage and Kanye-inspiration, but it overstays its' welcome by a solid 20 minutes, and 'Boys Like Girls' is straight trash.

September 6, 2025 HL: "Typical Me", "Nite Nite", "How We Livin'", "Signs In Life" unexpected Black Sabbath- on that note, the rap rock elements really evoke Rick Rubin's work with Beastie Boys and Eminem. Bonus track "Boys Love Girls" is probably my least favourite. The technical last song, "Signs" is among my favourites though. In the absence of hip-hop albums on this user list- well, until now- I've been making my own way through the genre, with mostly positive results. Just in the last month, there has been Kanye, Outkast, Denzel Curry, Black Thought, the new Chance the Rapper and Little Simz, Drake, Future, Skepta, Clipse and K'Naan (yes, the "Wavin Flag" guy. He has other songs, trust me). AND YET- I still find I have to put in a bit of additional work to appreciate hip-hop compared to other genres. Perhaps that will always be true of lyric-first genres for me. So where does Kano/Kane Robinson fit in, this Londoner I didn't really know about before today? Probably in the top 50%; the beats are colourful enough to maintain my interest and Kano's delivery is... pretty good, worthy of a debut album. I think his tracks with Ghetto/Ghetts are the best flow-wise. I would rank most of those other recent rap cuts between 3 and 4 stars (Lotus and Cheat Codes being the closest to a 5 and Troubadour and Dirty Sprite 2 the furthest away), so let's say Home Sweet Home is a 3.75. With room for growth :) Also on the subject of grime/British hip-hop, Skepta and Fred Again dropped some really good tunes recently, if you've heard this and are hungry for more.

Hip-hop sin muchas florituras y sin grandes sorpresas. No demasiado intenso para escuchar, con lo que se sobrelleva bien. Sin mucha pena ni gloria

British hip hop. Surprised this wasn't on the original list since seemingly getting shortlisted for the Mercury Prize seems to guarantee inclusion. This was fine.

Although the raps are pretty impressive, it just gets too much on my nerves.

Grime music does nothing for me, but I liked it a little more than the disaster that was the Dizzee Rascal album included in the book.

Very much sounds like a debut album where the artist is still trying to figure out their identity and what they're doing. So many mixed messages here, I find it hard to believe what he's saying.

Feels like a beginner's attempt at a rap LP, with dreadfully banal lyrics and not much interesting to speak of in the beats. Also feels like the vocals are mixed down below the cymbals at points, so the whole thing needs some more studio polish at least.

An eclectic mix of backing tracks, which are quite cool and rock quite hard in places. It's largely ruined, though, by the irritating rapping and dullard lyrics about what a top chap Kano believes himself to be and the excellent qualities he considers that he has. Rating: 2 Playlist track: I Don't Know Why Date listened: 23/09/24

Not really my thing… I believe this is too grimy - like that Dizzee Rascal album I didn’t enjoy. More than an hour of this became a slog for me.

This album had its moments, but I mostly wasn't feeling it. Fave Songs: P's and Q's, Home Sweet Home

Not my preference for rap... UK style with a bit more electronic angle didn't really work for me. Typical Me was the strongest, but there isn't really a track here I'm interested in hearing a second time. Do give props for the pretty diverse sampling and style variety.

Kanoball: Hold Block, rotate joystick 360°, then release. Knife Throw: (Hold Block) Back, Forward. Fatality Heart Rip: Back, Down, Forward, Low Punch. (Close)

Obvious talent but a bit shouty for me

not my cup of tea

Not memorable British hip-hop. My personal rating: 2/5 My rating relative to the list: 2.5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

I started to listen to it right now. Now listening to the 4th song, I already know how to rate it with enough confidence. This mix of "traditional" British hip-hop and electronic music is far from my preferences. I respect who picked it for a gap in the original list, but are you sure about it? I'll finish my listening session, but I bet my rating will not change.

Wow, British rap from the early 2000s? Let me clear off a special place for this album so I can give it the respect it deserves <opens trash can lid and shoves album in there until I hear several snaps> It's not bad, but it's hard for me to get excited about something like this knowing all the cool shit that was happening in rap in the US at this time. I refuse to grade the UK on a curve with regard to this stuff, since they figured out how to do rock and roll better than us incredibly fast. Rap is apparently going to take a couple more decades. His flow isn't bad, but the music is uninspiring and I found myself getting bored with this immediately 2/5

Slightly more interesting than irritating. Up until Sometimes. Then I needed to tap out.

Not horrible, just not my thing.

I'll give you this, I wouldn't have blinked twice were this on the main list.

I definitely appreciate that European rappers have added their own flavor to rap music and the huge difference it makes with electronic beats vs the soul, r&b, and funk root of American rappers. I’d definitely give this artist another shot and see if I like his other albums. This was okay.

Awful, even by hip hop's low standards.

Wow this was awful. So basic and boring lyrics. Just 'I'm great, me and my crew are big and cool and sometimes we go out and then we go here and I was born to be rich and I'm a cool kid' I really can't stand this basic London rapper nonsense.