Streets, Love & Other Stuff - P Money, Whiney

Grime's evolution has been closely intertwined with bass music, and, in some ways, this collaborative album between illustrious grime rapper P Money and drum n bass producer Whiney is a testament to just how well these two genres work together.

That is, despite typically being at two different BPMs, at 140 and 175 respectively (as quite plainly stated in the intro track "175 x 140"). Nevertheless, "Streets, Love & Other Stuff" is just P Money going to town over some clean drum n bass production. And I suppose that's how it should be. The way in which his verses flow over the constant, fast-paced kick snare is polished at times, impressive at others, mesmerizing at others still. Ripping off a couple of frenzied bars on one track, cruising through a well-structured chorus hook on another, P Money uses the potential of the long-form album length to full effect, switching up his style and his flow on a track-by-track basis to keep things interesting, bringing in a couple of vocal features in for effect — whether that be in the rap department, or in more alternative fields — and still completely dominating the tracklist for all 49 minutes of its runtime. Dynamic lyricism is always appreciated, too — the braggadocio style is certainly prevalent, as expected, but with it comes the emotive, the wistful, the hopeful, and plenty of other sentiments that P Money toys with, once again utilising the artistic scope an album tracklist provides to full effect. But P Money's vocal only makes up half of this album. Whiney brings his own heat to the production half he spearheads, staying consistent and true to the drum n bass concept of the LP, never letting up in his relentless kick snare beats. Meticulously building to his DnB sections provides a certain anticipatory flair to the tracks the builds are applied to, whilst gritty basslines assert themselves behind P Money's grime and occassionally burst out of the soundscape to take the reins and gallop to victory on their 175BPM hooves. At times it's almost incredible P Money is able to keep up, but I have to commend both artists on that matter — Whiney for giving a techy DnB reinforcement fit for any rapper, and P Money for simply doing P Money things. But I also have to note that "Streets, Love & Other Stuff" is not without its flaws. At times I find myself wishing Whiney's production got more of the spotlight, and at others the album feels a little too repetitive, whether that be in lyrical or production motifs, or just pure songwriting.

I mean, yeah, these two artists have produced something brilliant, something that appeals equally to fans of grime and fans of drum n bass equally. But even so, it's not flawless. This project nearly had me, but ultimately it's a lack of engagement and cohesiveness, and subsequent lack of resonance with the music that puts me off it.