Rotten Fruit?
I watched the coverage of V Festival on TV over the weekend.
Honestly, I’d rather spend a couple of years in Guantanamo Bay then go to that ‘festival’ and whilst I screaming for mercy at the lineup as each ‘artist’ racked off their popular hits, on walked a once British legend, The Streets.
I’ve got, sorry I had, a lot of respect for Mike Skinner. Original Pirate Material was raw, organic and well, original and he almost carved out his own genre with his music. Witty and edgy lyrics that we could all relate to as well as top notch production straight from his bedroom was what made The Streets.
However somewhere down the line it all took a turn for the worst. His last album was absolutely awful. Something you really couldn’t listen to without thinking “HOW COULD SOMEONE PUT THEIR NAME ON THIS!?”.
So let’s turn the page and reminisce on what once was – the opening track from his debut album.
The Streets – Turn The Page – 
Modern Masterpiece.
Alright, so I agree the last Streets effort is a bit weak compared to his solid 1-2-3 punch from Original Pirate through The Hardest Way, but can you really say you have lost your respect for the man? While songs like “Heaven for the Weather” are appallingly terrible and difficult to listen to, his content still transcends his slanted delivery and beats. He is a lyricist first, “rapper” (for lack of a better word) second. I think that while the music on Everything is Borrowed is really not that great, he shows a lot of maturity and wisdom that comes with his age… He is, what? 32 now? The more “mature” approach shouldn’t be too surprising and Mr. Skinner still deserves our respect for his originality and the way he pushes on with little regard to what anyone thinks.