Skepta
Doin' It Again
Release Date: Jan 31, 2011
Genre(s): Electronic, Club/Dance
Record label: Universal Distribution
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Album Review: Doin' It Again by Skepta
Acceptable, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 7/10
While Professor Green, Tinchy Stryder, and Tinie Tempah have effortlessly made the smooth transition from the underground grime scene they came from to the upper reaches of the charts, one of the genre's pioneers, Joseph Adenuga, aka Skepta, appears to have been left trailing behind. The Boy Better Know founder and former Roll Deep MC's first two albums, Greatest Hits and Microphone Champion, went by pretty much unnoticed, despite star turns from Jay Sean and Wiley, while his uncompromising gritty sound has so far failed to make it onto mainstream radio playlists. However, following an invitation by Diddy to produce a grime remix of his club smash "Hello Good Morning," Skepta's third album, Doin' It Again, is receiving much more high-profile attention.
Based on rating 3/5
The formula is familiar by now: grime MC makes pop-focused album and sets course for the heart of the charts. As yet, though, Skepta hasn't had the hits of peers (and proteges) such as Dizzee, Tinchy, Tinie et al. This album suggests reasons why – both bad and good. On the one hand, there is no stand-out club anthem like Tinie's Pass Out, despite several attempts (Bad Boy coming the closest).
Based on rating 1.5/5
John Doran.
Opinion: Excellent
One of grime’s success stories delivers a perfectly pop third album. Melissa Bradshaw 2011 Skepta is a big grime success story. Since attracting underground attentions with tracks like Duppy and Too Many Man, the Boy Better Know co-founder has set his sights on continually broader horizons. His 2010 singles Bad Boy and Rescue Me both charted without radio support, and latest single Cross My Heart had well over a million YouTube views even before it was released.