Skepta .. Fred (Skepta, Fred again..)

Skepta's a seasoned veteran in the grime scene, with a prolific career spanning over two decades. Fred again.. is a world-renowned electronic producer, having made massive global hits across multiple star-studded albums and collaborations. Both are household names. What happens when they meet?

The good: Compared to his typical emotive house style, "Skepta .. Fred" is a bit of a stylistic diversion for Fred. But after the resounding success of "Victory Lap", he teams up with Skepta for this 5 track EP that takes on a bit of a mixtape-esque vibe, having transitions between tracks that overlap into each other and give the tracklist, however short it may be, a definite cohesiveness to it. Skepta's grime rapping is no joke - it never has been - and he's aggressively entertaining on the mic, spitting bars that flow so well you might just be able to overlook his bizarre lyricism. And Fred matches him pace for pace, bar for bar, crafting up a range of unique beats that each sound clean yet delve into different production motifs, from progressive techno to rumbling UK dubstep. This EP doesn't lack style, nor does it lack memorability.

The bad: "Skepta .. Fred" doesn't quite have the underground feel it could have had. Maybe it's just not gritty enough, maybe it's a little too cleanly produced, maybe it's something else - this EP is simply just missing something in terms of that live environment it could have struck for. Nevertheless, there's nothing wrong with what we have now.