Album Review: Skepta's Ignorance is Bliss brings back the swagger

Skepta's latest is summed up in opener 'Bullet From A Gun', with the grime superstar spitting, "It's too easy to write a sad song/ I can't play the victim."

Here Skepta dodges cathartic confessionals for solid bangers, mostly centering on rap's most common topics, "sex, money and murder" - words which echo through the LP.

With his crystal-clear voice, effortless flow and dextrous rhymes, often set to sparse dance-hall melodies fed through a synthesiser, Skepta succeeds in making his brags about his wealth and "top boy" status compelling. You believe him when, on 'What Do You Mean', he says, "I came in the game/ Ran it like an athlete."

However, the posturing wears thin, as does Skepta's casual sexism - evidenced in the choruses of the otherwise solid 'Greaze Mode' and 'Redrum'. On the latter, he warns haters that he will slap them "like Ike Turner." Nasty and retrograde, these lyrics about sexual escapades are also tired, rap clichés.

The best moments see Skepta balancing the personal with his trademark swagger. "Glow In The Dark" finds him dissatisfied with fame: "I knew what it was to be black way before I was on a GQ cover/ How you gonna question me about colour?"

'No Sleep', meanwhile, addresses those jealous of his success: "Wanna hate on me?/ That's useless/ Truth is you really must hate yourself."