Kae Tempest
Self Titled
Release Date: Jul 4, 2025
Genre(s): Rap, Spoken Word
Record label: Island
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Album Review: Self Titled by Kae Tempest
Fantastic, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 4.5
Instinctive and raw, yet tender to the touch, his most powerful statement yet demands to be heard Self-titled albums are usually seen as a statement of intent, proclaiming exactly how an artist sees themselves. So it is with Kae Tempest, five albums in and releasing a work that proves his strongest statement yet. The instinctively delivered lyrics reflect Tempest's prowess as a poet, becoming a celebration of identity as a trans man while dealing with the resultant push-pull for body and mind.
Opinion: Excellent
Multi-hyphenate South Londoner Kae Tempest formerly focused squarely at painting the rich inner lives of others. With ‘Self-Titled’, the rapper and spoken word performer turns inwards, resulting in a record overflowing with vivid interiority though sonically inconsistent. Their exploration into their own gender identity and rediscovery is front and centre on ‘Self-Titled’, and the poetic wordsmith Tempest weaves lexical motifs throughout.
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