Konnichiwa (Skepta album)

Background

In 2012, Skepta released two singles planned in promotion for his forthcoming fourth album – "Hold On" and "Make Peace Not War". Both were Top 40 charting singles in the UK but were a departure from Skepta's usual sound. Skepta's fourth album was intended to be released in the fourth quarter of 2011, entitled The Honeymoon, but was delayed till 2012. After a disappointing response from the first two singles Skepta decided to release a purchasable mixtape, titled Blacklisted. It was released on 2 December 2012 along with music videos to support the release prior to the release. The Honeymoon project was ultimately scrapped and replaced by the working title Konnichiwa, while also parting ways with his label 3 Beat and seeking the production and release of the album independently.

Konnichiwa was originally announced in early 2013, yet suffered from numerous delays and reworking. It was initially supported by the single "Lay Her Down" featuring Kano, along with a release date of late 2013. However, after announcing near-completion the single and release was scrapped and Skepta took another approach to the album campaign. It was announced by Skepta to be released in 2014, stating that he completed nine songs and required six more to be finished. This was supported by the release of the lead single, "That's Not Me" featuring Jme, the first song recorded for the final, reworked version of Konnichiwa, which also signalled a new direction of the album musically. In November 2014, Skepta tweeted a fan that Konnichiwa was to be released in March 2015, however the release date was delayed once again.

Through 2015, Skepta was met with international recognition following the release of "That's Not Me" and accompanying Kanye West on stage at the 2015 BRIT Awards during his performance of "All Day". In an interview with BBC Radio 1Xtra's DJ Semtex, Skepta talked about the emotions behind recording his album to his relationship with Canadian rapper Drake, he revealed that he didn't know how the rapper found out about him, "I can’t tell how he heard of me. I will never know, but I’ll put my money on him finding me online and searching for my music because that's what he's like – he's a music lover. For me, it was a blessing that he was co-signing me and bigging me up, because I’m still gonna do what I’m gonna do anyway," he continued. "I’m just blessed to have them man supporting. My album came out on the 6th when I was in Toronto and it's like home. The way they’ve got me out there is mad." He explained that he considered his album to be like "a movie", "Konnichiwa is a classic, The album [was] delayed for kick drums. To put it out was a definite happy point." He also talked about dealing with his critics in the grime scene, "I'm out for revenge, fam, I come into this ting pure-hearted and loving music, and people take me for an idiot, you get what I'm saying? So when I spit now people are gonna hear a madman, they're gonna hear a monster, they're gonna hear someone who's out for revenge - and I'm out for revenge".

In April 2016, Skepta restarted the album campaign by announcing the finalised release date and with the release of the second single, "Man".

Singles

Critical reception

Konnichiwa was met with critical acclaim. It received a normalized metascore of 83 out of 100 on the review aggregate website Metacritic based on 18 critics, which indicates "universal acclaim." Alex Petridis of The Guardian gave the album 4 out of 5 stars saying, "The architect of grime's resurgence might have an eye on the US market, but he's a distinctively, winningly English rapper." Louis Pattison of NME gave the album 5 out of 5 stars saying, "‘Konnichiwa’ is a landmark in British street music, a record good enough to take on the world without having to compromise one inch in the process."

Konnichiwa won the 2016 Mercury Music Prize, beating David Bowie, Radiohead and Kano.

Commercial performance

On 9 May 2016, the album was at number 1 on the UK Official Chart Update and was only 2,000 copies ahead of Beyoncé's album Lemonade. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 2, behind Radiohead's album A Moon Shaped Pool. The album entered the Swedish Albums Chart at number 54. The album entered the Dutch Albums Chart at number 31. The album entered the Swiss Albums Chart at number 38. The album entered the New Zealand Albums Chart at number 27. The album entered the Australian Albums Chart at number 13. The album entered the US Billboard 200 at number 160.

Track listing

Notes