About three days ago we got smacked in the face by a raw genuinity from the beloved UK rapper, Slowthai, known for his gruesome, but admired, attitude toward himself and the world around him. On the 3rd of March the grime artist dropped his third album acutely, yet accurately, named UGLY.
Slowthai has never shied from speaking his thunderous mind. Ever since his first studio album Nothing Great About Britain in 2019, the rapper has lavished with ground shifting points of view in order to not commit to a repressed storyteller. He has stemmed from a UK rap/Hip Hop sound which has smoothly evolved into a more alternative-rock, post-punk direction which couldn’t suit him better.
Throughout his artistic career, he has barked out outlawed pleasures as well as Britain’s most disappointing deeds as a country. What fans most love about the Northampton artist is how his childish personality reflects in his sound. At the end of the day, he is just a lad from the Northampton dumps, having had to rely on creative experiments as a main source of entertainment. Throughout his first two album releases, he speaks a truthful mind on what rages him about the nasty sides of life, learning how to deal with your own stuff as well as expressing a bagful of repressed feelings.
He intimately welcomes us into his typhoon of an album UGLY, flirting between a busy post-punk feel and some electronic synth mashings. An album that brings us closer to his true self more than ever before. Encapsulated perfectly by the name, his reality, he demonstrates, is not close to pretty. This doesn’t mean, however, he is not following an aim towards a more positive message in his songs, as he mentioned to The Fader, and proved with songs such as “Momentary Bliss“. Through genuine and gruesome thoughts, he details the inklings that many other people can relate to as well as learning how to love yourself. Not to mention the art of blissfully not giving a f–k.
Unlike his other releases, this is a collaboration-free album, enhancing a reflection within his self determination mentioned throughout the piece, as he tends to delve into a genre-mashing collaborative ride. This is a quest to find happiness by being as honest as possible and staying true to himself, no matter how much of a ruckus he creates around him.
UGLY was released on the 3rd March through the California based label Interscope Records. Alongside this, an UGLY world tour has been announced for the end of the year, starting on the 20th of September in Glasgow running until the 30th of September finalising in Brussels. Tickets went on sale on the 28th February.
Click here to buy the album.
Click here to buy tour tickets.
World Tour Dates:
20/09/2023 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow
21/09 – O2 Victoria Warehouse – Manchester
22/09 – Alexandra Palace – London
23/90 – O2 Academy – Birmingham
27/09 – Elysee Montmarte – Paris
28/09 – Paradiso – Amsterdam
29/09 – Metropol – Berlin
30/09 – AB – Brussels
