Clever, bleak, funny, bracing, aware of a broad musical heritage but never in thrall to it: after you hear Nothing Great About Britain, it’s even more obvious why Slowthai stands out.
slowthai finds himself as the poster boy for Brexit Britain and it’s a mantle that this street poet will no doubt relish.
The Bajan-British rapper’s debut tackles the UK’s pressing crises—a looming Brexit, class hostility, widening poverty—with great jokes and writerly candor.
On his debut album, slowthai proves himself to be an exciting new voice in the UK hip hop landscape.
His debut album, the knowingly-titled Nothing Great About Britain, succinctly captures the mental state of that fractured nation, and the fizzing energy of an exasperated youth.
What connects is the dark charisma in Slowthai’s aggrieved squawk, a yelp of rage, fear and occasional self-loathing, crackling with the visceral betrayal of the left-behind.
It’s at times a brutal listen, but hidden between the hard knocks is the sound of a charismatic young artist who knows he’s making a debut album to remember.
Fresh and exhilarating, Nothing Great About Britain firmly establishes slowthai as one of U.K. rap's most relevant artists.
Nothing Great About Britain is great at expressing a dizzying sort of (anti-)national pride, but the LP never quite puts its finger on new and newly inclusive ways of reimagining the nation.
A record that reveals the whirlwind of hype around Slowthai to be not much more than invisible garments on an arrogant emperor.
The bloke’s from Northampton - all question of authenticity should be answered by that one fact.
He has my every sympathy.
Final Edit: I gotta go 9/10 on this. This album is so great, and incredibly consistent. Even the bonus tracks are awesome! I am captivated by this guy- his rapping, his story, his lyrics. This album is catchy, it's aggressive, it's emotional, and it's just a really satisfying experience front to back. Top 10 album of the year for me, possibly my rap AOTY, and definitely making my top 100 albums of the decade list easy.
Really solid front to back. Slowthai is compelling as a lyricist and ... read more
What the hell is going on in the cover💀" Nothing Great About Britain" is slowthai's first album, and to be honest he had his sound figured out fairly quickly. It's slower paced, heavier, and more grimy. The way slowthai raps is like he struggles to get out the next word, like he's trembling in the delivery, but in a good way. The beats are good, nothing to right home about, but they're solid. For a first record "Nothing Great About Britain" conveys the talent slowthai has ... read more
Consistently good album. No huge standouts on here for me other than Doorman if I’m going to be absolutely honest. That being said, I was still enjoying what I was hearing. The best comparison I can make is to JPEGMAFIA’s Black Ben Carson, in the sense that I’m enjoying the music, I’m just probably never going back to it. Still good.
Favorite Tracks: Doorman, Toaster, and Rainbow
I mean Britain has Slowthai, Dave, DOOM, 21, football, Wayne Rooney and yeah that's pretty much it
Gritty and rough album that tackles class struggle, the search for identity and a multitude of other social dillemas of the UK in the 21st century in an unapologetic and raw fashion.
1 | Nothing Great About Britain 3:09 | 80 |
2 | Doorman 3:04 with Mura Masa | 90 |
3 | Dead Leaves 2:48 | 75 |
4 | Gorgeous 4:15 | 85 |
5 | Crack 2:16 | 73 |
6 | Grow Up 3:00 feat. Jaykae | 76 |
7 | Inglorious 3:08 feat. Skepta | 82 |
8 | Toaster 3:04 | 78 |
9 | Peace of Mind 2:27 | 74 |
10 | Missing 2:20 | 83 |
11 | Northampton's Child 3:02 | 86 |
#2 | / | DJ Mag |
#2 | / | Dummy |
#2 | / | PopMatters |
#3 | / | Dazed |
#4 | / | Bandcamp Daily |
#4 | / | NME |
#7 | / | Northern Transmissions |
#9 | / | MondoSonoro |
#9 | / | The Guardian |
#9 | / | The Line of Best Fit |
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