The Streets
Rapper Mike Skinner translates the lifestyles of the young, urban British on his entertaining yet astutely aware sophomore album
By Amber Drea
Published: June 24th, 2004 | 3:12pm
On his debut album, Original Pirate Material, Mike Skinner, a.k.a. the Streets, was just figuring out his sound and getting his ideas down.
With his follow-up, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, he’s gained control of his blend of U.K. garage, hip-hop, and reggae rhythms. He’s replaced the random rants with a collection of songs that tells the story of a guy named Mike who has a bad day and loses his savings, in effect triggering a chain reaction of self-doubt, paranoia, and problems with girls and friends.
Like chapters of a novel, each song advances the plot while addressing a unique topic. The stories combine dialogue and vividly described scenes with suspense indicators such as strings and horns, rendering the narrative with a cinematic quality. And he portrays every stage of the romantic relationship masterfully.
“Could Well Be In” describes the excitement one feels when you first meet someone you can really talk to. “Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way” is the comfort zone, when all you want to do is stay at home with your girl. “Get Out Of My House” is when that comfort zone degenerates into dependency and demand. “Such a Twat” deals with cheating and that thin line between knowing it’s over, and not wanting it to be. And finally, “Dry Your Eyes” details the subtle shifts in emotion during the inevitable break-up. The album culminates in “Empty Cans,” which resolves the plot in two ways, each depending on the attitude Skinner takes to assess the situation.
With Grand, Skinner’s songwriting has really matured and his storytelling style has made his rap-speak easier to understand, although you still need a Cockney-to-American dictionary handy. Unless, of course, you get the chance to ask Skinner himself.
How did you decide to write the album as a larger story in which each song is like a chapter?
I really like story songs in general, and my songs were kind of story-y before. But when I was making it, it just kind of gradually happened. I just kept writing stories. I like albums that reference other songs within the album so, you know, it was a continuation of that, really, and I just kind of kept taking it further.
Did you write the songs in the order as they are on the album?
I write all the songs at the same time. When something in one song changes, I’ll change it in the other song.
The main character is “Mike,” for the most part. How autobiographical are these songs?
It’s kind of autobiographical. It’s kind of like, the stuff that I do, I do it on there. But it didn’t really happen, it’s fictional. But it’s really similar to my life.
So the story about losing $1000 didn’t really happen.
No, but I do lose things quite a lot.
Are the characters Simone, Scott, and Dan based on real people you know?
Yeah, kind of. I mean, they’re all named after people in my family but no, they’re kind of all different people stuck together.
Did your writing process differ from Original Pirate Material?
It always changes slightly as I learn and change, but no. Really, it’s just a continuation of the first thing.
What comes first, the lyrics or the music?
Generally, the beat comes first, and I know what I’m going to be writing about, and then the lyrics come after that.
Did you do other kinds of writing and other kinds of music before you started the Streets?
I used to play the guitar when I was a kid a bit. I’ve just been producing, really. All the different styles that are on the record I’ve kind of made. So that’s kind of putting it all together.
Did you ever write words separate from music or did writing lyrics come from making music?
Yeah, it just came from writing the music, really.
On “Blinded By the Light,” are you criticizing ecstasy use or just recording what goes through a person’s head when they’re on it?
Not really criticizing it or supporting it. You know, we do a lot of it in England. It’s just an average night out, really. It’s quite average.
Is the scenario in that song a bad night or a normal night?
It kind of ends up being good, but in a way, it’s kind of criticizing it because it’s saying that, first, the night’s crap and then the night gets better. So I guess it’s kind of saying the only reason I had a good night in the end was because of the drugs.
Why did you choose to tell the story on “Such a Twat” as a cell phone call?
It’s a device, I suppose. It’s all different ways of telling a story. I like telling ’em from different angles. I think it keeps it a bit interesting.
On “Empty Cans,” what do you mean by the lyric “I stick up two fingers and one more to make three”?
In England, when you stick up your first two fingers in a V shape, it means, “Fuck off.” It goes back to the war we had with the French. We used to have really good archers, so when the French captured us, they'd always cut off our fingers. So when you stick up two fingers, it means “Fuck off, I can still use my bow and arrow.” And if you stick up your middle finger — the Americans do that, don’t they? They stick up their middle finger. You know, like Mötley Crüe do? — I was sticking up my two fingers and then my middle finger on my other hand: one more makes three.
You really cover all the different kinds of relationships that can happen between people. And it’s very specific. Pop songs are so general and vague because they want everybody to understand it or relate to it, but you get so specific that it makes the stories even more real, which allows your audience to relate to it more. Do you think about that when you’re writing?
Yeah, if you’re a lot more specific, there’s more commitment. You’re committing more to what you’re actually saying and really, really being absolutely clear about what you’re talking about. I think there’s a lot of, kind of, ambiguity in music and essentially I think the artists are too scared to say what they really think.
In your live performance, do you play songs from both albums?
Yeah. We’re not setting the story out like an opera. We just mix it up and have a bit of a show.
Do you have a full band?
We’ve got a drummer, a keyboard player, a bass player, a singer, and me.
Any dancers?
No dancers yet. But I’m pretty good at dancing. I’m getting better.
Issue #23
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