Tara Garman
Stories (1/0)
5 Songs You Should Be Listening to This Month
1. slowthai - "Doorman" With his debut album Nothing Great About Britain, 23-year old Grime artist slowthai has created a soundtrack for a Britain in the grips of the Brexit crisis and through slick and perceptive bars has scathingly exposed the nation’s fragile sense of identity. Crediting electronic music producer Mura Masa, "Doorman" is an unexpected blend of UK grime and classic punk. The politically strident and rebellious nature of the lyrics hail back to the 1970’s punk movement and revive the sentiment behind tracks such as Sex Pistol’s 1977 single "God Save the Queen." As slowthai struts around stage topless with the backdrop of the Union Jack flag as a reference to the British class system and allegiance to the Crown he proves that he is Johnny Rotten if he grew up on a council estate in Northampton. On "Doorman" his bars are underscored by a threatening bassline and incessant drums which may seem foreign to the Grime scene, yet the two genres marry perfectly together to emphasise the theme of classism explored by both rappers and rockers alike. As slowthai furiously shouts ‘Doorman, let me in the door!’ he expresses the anger of a man who is buckling under the pressure of Britain’s rigid class system yet is also determined to kick his way through the barriers. Slowthai’s punk protest has led him to be hailed as the voice of a generation as he holds a mirror up to his listeners and makes them wonder ‘is this place actually great, or are you?’
By Tara Garman5 years ago in Beat