London’s grime heavyweight Skepta has steered his trajectory into some pleasantly surprising corners of the industry of late. He dropped a notably stylish collaborative EP with the superstar DJ Fred again.. last year, and soon after began laying the groundwork to emerge as a headline DJ in his own right. Earlier this year, Skepta started spinning house records at Más Tiempo, the DJ residency he holds in Hï Ibiza’s Club Room, and he issued an EDM-centric EP to accompany that pivot. Now, Skepta returns to his rap roots with a new single, though it carries a distinctly clubby, off-kilter energy all its own.
Sources point to an album titled The Fork And Knife arriving at an undetermined future date. The new track, called “Innocent Smile,” moves at a brisk tempo with restless, breakbeat-forward momentum that seems poised to soundtrack at least a handful of movie montages over the coming years. Skepta co-produced the cut with Chase & Status, the drum ’n’ bass duo behind many a bass-dropping anthem, while Graham “Suggs” McPherson—the endlessly affable frontman of Madness—delivers a chorus that nods to Gorillaz in vibe and cadence.
The opening line of “Innocent Smile” lands with a punchy, if controversial, couplet: “What’s the story, morning glory?/ More fake news tryna mind-control me.” It feels like a big, overt commercial play that could work its way into festival sets, though reactions may vary. For the first minute or so, I found myself thinking, “Oh no, this is terrible.” Then, a turn: “Wait a minute, this goes hard.” It’s a wild ride. Accompanying the track is a striking new video directed by Aidan Zamiri, a frequent Charli XCX collaborator who also steered her film The Moment. Check it out below.
