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"I was the kid in school with the 10 pound shoes / White socks, jack-ups and the pepper grains / Said they're gonna respect me for my ambition / Rest in peace my niggas that are missing / I had to tell my story cause they'd rather show you / Black kids with flies on their faces on the television," ('Oguelegba', The Tim Westwood Mix, 2015). This casts light on his friends at school who didn't judge him for coming from a poor background and then attacks the deductive representation of African people in Western media. Essential anthroplogy here.
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"Some say I came out of nowhere / Little d'they know it's been a four year nightmare / Running around with no runner / Had to pay for my own radio plugger / Watch'd everybody eating / While I sat there with no bread, no butter / I told myself I gotta do this / Whatever the weather I get through this," ('Nobody Made Men', Do It Again, 2011). Succeeding in being creative on his own terms and staying independent (he still is on his own label) has meant some serious sacrifices to get there. These lyrics describe that brilliantly.
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"When you looking at Skepta, you're looking at the Canary Wharf and the Gherkin / They better mention me when they're talking about London, nigga I'm murking / Sitting in my bedroom, smoking so much weed that my chest is hurting / On a porno website watching a sexy Latina squirting," ('Frisco', Community Payback, 2011). This goes back to what Jarvis Cocker was saying about music being like having a conversation. With Skepta the lyrics are written like he's talking to a close friend and isn't changing anything simply because it's in the public eye. It makes his whole output much more real.
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"All my niggas on the rise, man / It's a sad time for the KKK / They're tryna work out what's happenin' / David Cameron on the phone to Obama / Man are shakin' and panickin' / When they see the Shutdown Shoreditch gatherin'," ('Back Then', The Tim Westwood Mix, 2015). Skepta had images of Black Lives Matter protests for his visuals during his set at the Mercury Prize. The effectiveness of protesting and racial equality is something Skepta is doing a noble gesture in drawing attention to now that he has the platform to be heard by millions. It's people like him that can create social change, often much quicker than politicians or activists.
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"My dad phoned me last night and told me that money's the root of all evil / I told him in this day and age money's the only thing that's motivating people" ('Babe', Community Payback mixtape, 2011). As Jarvis Cocker said last night he looks for a voice that tells him something like he's having a conversation. Skepta's lyrics do just that. They're a diary of life from sex, booze, poverty, violence, deception, and so much more. There's as much drama here than in any Shakespeare. This track 'Babe' has a stand out line because it speaks of a broader problem in society that makes you reflect on our own values while learning about Skepta's own struggles.
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"Yeah, I'm in my zone / Livin the life of the young and gifted/ In the studio, run out of drink, all we got is some weed and biscuits / I'm supposed to be writing / Instead I'm daydreaming about doggy-styling Kate Winslet," ('Same Shit Different Day', Blacklisted mixtape, 2012). There's a strong element of humour to Skepta's words and it seems trying to write failed and his daydreams were more interesting so why not write about them?
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"Cause I was on the streets / Could've been locked up by police / Could've ended up dead / But I found a new hustle / Yh man, I still juggle / But I ain't no clown / So like it or lump it, / I'm on the road to a million pound / And I've got every right to blow my own trumpet." ('Jeezy', Been There Done That, 2009). He said this seven years ago and look at how right he was. Being independent too will certainly help his riches as the percentages from album sales will be much more beneficial than on a major label.
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"Now all the family's eating / I won't sign another deal so fast / Man are looking for the big boy contract / Them man are happy with five-day pass," ('Gingerbread Man', Microphone Champion, 2009). The MC's stance on the fickle nature of artists looking for a quick fix career is quite passionate. The temptation to sign to something that could distract the artist away from his original intentions must have been strong at times. But he's done impeccably well to stay true to himself through some hard times and he's a better, more interesting writer / MC because of it.
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"Told me you was a big fan but the first thing you said when you saw me is "Can I get a pic for the gram?" / I was like "Nah, sorry man" / I only socialize with the crew and the gang," ('Man', Konnichiwa, 2016). Family is evidently important to Skepta as you can see by the bond of everyone around him. The fact he's been in the limelight and he's stayed true to his roots gives him such great charisma as a performer and confidence in himself that's infectious to be around.
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"I met her on Monday, made love on the same day cause I ain't Craig David," (Mike Lowery, Community Payback, 2011). It's one of those lines you'll wish you came up with yourself. Cheeky bit of fun.
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"Fuck the police / I see through them / They bring guns and drugs into the country / Then lock me up if I use them," ('Real Rudeboy', Community Payback, 2011). Seeing some police as irresponsible to brandish arms and drug barons is fair enough. Corruption at this level is rife all around the world. The death of Mark Duggan in particular may have influenced this line. Skepta tweeted: "The police man shot Mark Duggan (unarmed) dead. He murdered a human being, a Father. He is "Not Guilty" of what?!
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"After the show jump on the tour bus, a little bit of brandy, a little bit of green / My life is like a movie and any place I go I'm making a scene / It's so funny how them man are so moist but they ain't got cream / That's why I keep on grinding until my pockets are fatter than Cee Lo Green," ('Expensive Talk, Community Payback, 2011). His sense of self-belief was unshakeable at the beginning of his career and these words also give a bit of insight into the simple pleasures he enjoys on tour in the early days, adding fantastic imagery to the track.
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"The feds wanna shift man / Wanna put me in the van, wanna strip a man / Fuck that, I ain't a chippendale /Wanna strip a male / Put me in a prison cell / Got me biting all my fingernails," ('Crime Riddim', Konnichiwa, 2016). There's too much of a line crossed in the stop and search laws the police have passed and Skepta takes an impassioned, sharp lyrical swipe at it.
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"Because I sleep all day then I wake up at night / Then I phone my girl, see if she wants to link / She said she got work in the morning / So what do I do, I go out for a drink," ('Big', Do It Again, 2011). Despite a lot of Sketpa's life being full of confidence, and good times, he doesn't portray himself as invincible to darker emotions. This is one of the strongest insights into a depressive time of his.
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"Boy Better Know is the label / I'm already signed / I'm the reason anyone over 25 still listens to grime" '(Knock Yourself Out', Been There Done That, 2009). Showing that doing it yourself is the way forward and waiting on no one telling you what to do is key. If he'd waited to get signed before touring he definitely wouldn't have made it. THere's an inspirational message here for other musicians.
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"Labels never thought this guy from the ghetto could make all these girls sing for me," ('So Alive', Doin it Again, 2011). How wrong they were.... how wrong.