In 2019, slowthai made a huge impact on the scene with his debut studio album Nothing Great About Britain, which featured additional appearances from Skepta, Jaykae, and Mura Masa. The album earned the Northampton emcee a top ten slot on the UK Albums chart, as well as high acclaim and top-of lists from several major publications. One year later, it looks like slowthai is really to produce a follow-up for his fans, beginning with the loose singles “ENEMY” and the Kenny Beats-assisted “MAGIC.” More recently, he liberated a trippy new visual for the single “BB (BODYBAG),” which sees the artist delivering hard-hitting subject matter over production from Mount Kimbie’s Dominic Maker:
“Look in my eyes, what you lookin’ at me for? You ain’t seen a strap? I got cats in flats with three paws, lean like Eeyore/
Mum said, ‘Son, don’t play with guns, but the voice in my head kill everyone. put a boy in the ER/
One phone call can get a man gone, pullin’ up in a blacked out Beamer, you play too many games, these boys live in VR/
I hate liars so I set fires, tie him up, then we pull with pliers…/”
The visual comes courtesy of THE REST and A$AP Mob’s AWGE, and is as jarring as one can expect from slowthai. There’s a circle of terrified people pointing guns at each other, a face full of cigarettes, painful dentistry, and more.
slowthai has also recently found himself in the news for a controversial performance during this year’s NME Awards in February, which saw him getting into an altercation with the crowd and making comments of questionable nature toward comedian Katherine Ryan (which Ryan has denied). He’s since apologized via social media:
“What started as a joke between us escalated to a point of shameful actions on my part. I want to unreservedly apologise, there is no excuse and I am sorry. I am not a hero.”
You can press play on “BB (BODYBAG)” — and the aforementioned singles — below.