The Streets

“Everyone knows that the future of dance music is on the street. Now that future is called The Streets,” wrote the British music paper New Musical Express on the 2002 release of ‘Original Pirate Material’ by The Streets. The genius behind the best British rap record to date is Mike Skinner, a poet disguised as a hooligan. He combined brilliant punk poetry and the sound of the gutter to form an addictive musical mosaic. The second album ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’ (2004) had the hits: ‘Blinded by the Lights’, ‘Fit But You Know It’ and ‘Dry Your Eyes’. In 2011, Skinner shut down his musical operations to move into film. But the street cat is back, and how: ‘The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light’ (2023), his first album in 13 years fizzes with life and is presented by a phenomenal live band.