Mar 2004

Mike Skinner is back, and he’s reclaiming the Streets! His debut ‘Original Pirate Material’ introduced him as a geezer of philosophical banter. His cult-classic garage tunes (influenced by house and hip hop) were greeted as a snapshot of Britain and gave his album a true one-off masterpiece status.

Skinner returns with his second album consisting of even more day to day scenarios; girl problems, personal issues and the urge to strive for more is still here. Mike’s music has moved on, but he still stays true to his urban template, especially with the first single 'Fit But You Know It' which offers a nagging guitar riff and the usual generic garage songs 'Get Out Of My House' and ‘What Is He Thinking’.

Skinner's concept album focuses around a fictional hero who’s scenarios include: regrets about getting out of bed, losing a grand, uncontrollable crushes on a girl who works in JD Sports, going on holiday and then returning home to confront some unpalatable truths. Other anthems featured include 'Empty Cans' - the finale track that picks up from 'Stay Positive' off ‘Original Pirate Material’. ‘Dry Your Eyes’ is a real tearjerker as it displays Skinner’s real gift of down-to-earth dialogue, while ‘Not Addicted’ touches on Skinner's real-life yearning for a flutter.

There’s the usual madness that follows the Streets in his conquest of life, from misplaced coats to useless mobile phones, the wayward thoughts and images are matched by the lyrics and beats. This has become more than just another record, it's real-life drama mixed with a universal celebration of the modern English language.

• Rolling Stone (p.152) - Included in Rolling Stone's Top 50 Records Of 2004 - "It's a torrent of urgent British slang, twitchy rock loops and half-accidental rhymes..."
  
  Spin (p.67) - Ranked #7 in Spin's "40 Best Albums of the Year" - "[A] gripping headphone-movie about lost love, broken appliances and mislaid funds."
  
  Q (p.92) - 5 stars out of 5 - "[A] spoken word opera, or a short story with an exquisitely crafted pop soundtrack. A GRAND DON'T COME FOR FREE is also the best album of 2004 so far, and by some distance."
  
  Mojo (p.92) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[T]his shudders and sidesteps at an R&B pace....Credit Skinner for pushing things forward; he remains one of the most compelling voices in British pop culture."
  
  Uncut (p.86) - 5 stars out of 5 - "[A]n album which strides out of the garage and re-engages with the world. It is an essential listen for anyone interested in where music might take them."
  
  Uncut (p.75) - Ranked #7 in Uncut's "Best New Albums of 2004" - "The world's first 'garage opera' is a stroke of genius..."
  
  Magnet (p.109) - "Skinner has gone from likeable scamp to sympathetic lead, and GRAND's greatest revelation is how totally plausible Skinner is when he's being serious."
  
  Vibe (p.154) - 3 1/2 out of 5 - "[T]he real joy is in Streets' off-the-wall musicality and down-to-earth cockney flow."
• NME - "Proof that ORIGINAL PIRATE MATERIAL wasn't one of those happy flukes."

'A Grand Don't Come For Free' is the quasi-concept album follow up to 2002's hugely successful 'Original Pirate Material'. This release sees the Birmingham rapper Mike Skinner merge street talk, garage beats and rock guitars as he follows the loose story of losing money and love and how to regain them. The album doesn't steer too far from the winning formula used on earlier work and includes the single 'Fit But You Know It'.

The Streets: Mike Skinner.
The Streets (UK): Mike Skinner (vocals).
Additional personnel: Morgan Nicholls (piano, bass instrument); Johnny Jenkins, Leo Ihenacho, C Mone, Teddy Mitchell, Tony Walters, Jacqueline Rawe (background vocals).
Recording information: 2004.
Mike Skinner (AKA the Streets) opens his second record, A GRAND DON'T COME FOR FREE, with "It Was Supposed to Be So Easy," an elaborate story about the difficulties of returning a DVD to a rental shop. This everyday-yet-engaging tale conveys the essence of the lad who took British rap to a new level with his debut, ORIGINAL PIRATE MATERIAL, paving the way for the success of artists such as Ms. Dynamite and Dizzee Rascal.
Like his first outing, A GRAND DON'T COME FOR FREE is packed with Skinner's earnest, unfiltered monologues, related over pulsing beats and a surprising number of melodic hooks. His stories are glorious capsules of his life's minutiae, and observations on women, love, and society are voiced in a casual tone as if sitting over pints at the pub or talking on the phone. In fact, on one track, the beat drops, and he goes on about his cell phone, and how he has "to stand in a certain spot in [his] kitchen or it cuts out." A GRAND DON'T COME FOR FREE feels, in fact, like a satisfying late-night phone call from a longtime friend who can manage to make every story interesting, no matter how mundane.

Mike Skinner, better known under his hip-hop sobriquet, the Streets, burst onto the British music scene in a big way with his 2002 debut album ORIGINAL PIRATE MATERIAL. Coming off like a hip-hop version of Ian Dury, Skinner raps in a thick British accent about the details of everyday working-class life in England, with an inventiveness and humour that mark him as an original. He's musically innovative as well, utilising a sonic framework that incorporates the influences of drum-and-bass, garage, 2-Step, and ragga, as well as the standard hip-hop beats.