When one thinks of the current state of the UK scene, the usual suspects are bound to pop up. Household names including Ed Sheeran (“Perfect”), Harry Styles (“Watermelon Sugar”), Arctic Monkeys (“Do I Wanna Know?”) and Adele (“Someone Like You”) have all made their respective marks on modern music on a global scale, not just in their home country. Digging a bit more, a burgeoning rap scene has been earnestly picking up momentum over the last decade or so. Crossover stars like Skepta (“Praise The Lord”) and Stormzy (“Vossi Bop”) have found a respectable amount of success in the US.
The UK Drill movement has created quite a buzz over the past few years, with American artists like the late Pop Smoke (“Sunshine”) giving props to the inhabitants of the genre. With all that being said, a person with the wherewithal to dig just a little further is bound to come across the work of Loyle Carner (“Still”). Carner can simply be described as an MC from South London. His trademark is his warm and confessional approach to hip hop. Tales of love, friendship, and self reflection are near commonplace inside the lyrics of any given song penned by the 28-year-old BRIT award nominee. Safe to say, he quite literally writes with his heart on his sleeve.
The tracks encased within Carner’s third solo LP, titled “Hugo,” continue this pattern. However, there is a hint of aggression in this one here. A prime example of this edge lies in the lead single released back in July, “Hate.” It kicks off the entire project, and it is easily the angriest track the normally laid-back Englishman has ever released. The beat is highlighted by a combination of fast percussion and the sounds of piano and bass guitar battling one another in a competition to see who hits harder. Background vocals and electric guitar decide to poke their heads in as well. Carner vents about everything he hates, loves, and hates that he loves, along with various fears of his. Most notably the fear of black people being pigeonholed and seen as monolithic. Dismissing the idea that his people are destined to either play sports or become rappers. Carner defiantly spits near the end of the track, “So all my people in the back, all the nurses in the front, all my teachers, where you at?”
The next track “Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)” delves into Carner’s struggles as a mixed race man, with the question “Who am I?” repeated all throughout. He also brings up the strained relationship between himself and his biological father, and delivers the best line of the entire album, with the proclamation of “You can’t hate the roots of the tree and not hate the tree, so how can I hate the roots of the tree, without hating me?”
Other highlights include the fast paced “Speed Of Plight”, which explores Carner’s frustration with time and the lack of action by police in regard to stopping the violence that occurs in his hometown. The sensitive and warm demeanor of the MC makes brief appearances on both “A Lasting Place,” as well as “Polyfilla.” The album then concludes with the same passion shown on the opening track, but with the notch turned up to 1,000 with the closer “HGU,” in which Carner unveils his most urgent and animated performance yet. To those who have reservations against UK hip hop due to claims of there being no real struggles faced across the pond, Carner is living proof of that being a false theory.
Image from Loyle Corner via YouTube
