The Streets

Mike Skinner, A.K.A. the Streets, has made the unlikely genre of British rap seem essential
— a neat trick, since his "flow" hardly dazzles like Jay-Z's. But with working-bloke wit and a
love of simple hooks, he's made magic on records about stoned clubbing, failed courtships,
petty crime and pop stardom. On his fourth set, he addresses loftier themes — religion,
mortality, ecology — without sounding dorky; it's like he's been woodshedding... More >