Nothing Great About Britain is the debut studio album by British rapper Slowthai. It was released on 17 May 2019 via Method Records.[5] The album features guest appearances from British rappers Jaykae and Skepta, as well as production credits from Kwes Darko, Mura Masa and punk rock band Slaves.[6]
"Nothing Great About Britain" Released: 3 May 2019[4]
Nothing Great About Britain was released to widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 82, based on 15 reviews.[7]
The album title was announced on 22 February 2019 following the premiere of single "Peace of Mind".[8] The album's artwork, tracklisting and release date were then announced by slowthai amidst his UK tour on 28 March 2019.[9][6]
The album's lead single "Doorman", a collaboration with electronic music producer Mura Masa, was released on 19 November 2018; shortly after its premiere as BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac's Hottest Record.[10] The second single, "Peace of Mind", was released on 19 February 2019; shortly after its premiere as BBC Radio 1 DJ Phil Taggart's Hottest Record.[11] Third single, "Gorgeous", was released on 28 March 2019; shortly after its premiere on Julie Adenuga's Beats 1 show.[12] The title track was released as the album's fourth single on 3 May 2019.[13] A music video for "Inglorious", featuring Skepta, was released on 16 May 2019.[14]
Nothing Great About Britain was met with critical acclaim by music critics upon its initial release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 82, based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[7]
Amongst those praising the album was AllMusic's Paul Simpson, who judged that "His debut album far surpasses the promise of those early tracks, tackling similar topics but with a much sharper focus."[16] In a review for Clash, Yasmin Cowan wrote, "slowthai systematically and seamlessly tears down toxic politics, misguided notions of nationalism and social injustices with sardonic wit, seething vocals and woundingly skittish beats."[26] Jake Hawkes also rated the album positively in a review for Dork, claiming that "[the album] is a triumph of a debut, genre-straddling, quick-witted and, most importantly, very fun to listen to. In it, Slowthai sticks two fingers up at the Britain of blue passports, the royals and the Tory party, while simultaneously raising up the alternative Britain, one of family and working-class pride."[27]
Dan-O of Freemusicempire was clear that the promise of Slowthai's future is the real takeaway. "Nothing Great About Britain is a debut so he hasn't been steered into any lanes yet. You can feel the specificity in his perspective pairing with the ease of his skill and joyful thump of the sonic universe. Don't worry what number this is on the best of the year list. Numbers don't matter here: slowthai is here and fun to listen to."[28]
Alexis Petridis gave the album a full five-star rating in a review for The Guardian, calling it "Clever, bleak, funny, bracing, aware of a broad musical heritage but never in thrall to it: after you hear Nothing Great About Britain, it’s even more obvious why Slowthai stands out."[18] Tom Critten gave similar praise in a review for Loud and Quiet; "Brutally honest and amusingly witty with his flow, aggressive and dynamic with his production work, and captivatingly appealing with his charm and charisma, all taken together it assembles a hugely impressive, compelling and socially important listen. And whilst it’s a damning verdict on the current climate, all hope is not surrendered – after all, a full scale disavow of Britain does not feel like it’s reached in his prose."[29] Jazz Monroe also gave a positive review for Pitchfork, stating that "Nothing Great About Britain avoids cross-generational pandering and bypasses territorial arguments over the borders of grime and UK rap. What binds the album is slowthai’s soul: his meticulously drawn characters, his affinity for left-behind outsiders"[22]
While the album was well-regarded by most reviewers, some were more critical of it. Ben Devlin questioned the praise it received in a review for musicOMH, asking "what is there apart from these homages and imitations? Not much. The production shines at times, for example the punky thrash of Mura Masa-produced 'Doorman', but it’s undermined with clangers like 'you make me melt, sun, ice cream', and the sub-bass tones of 'Crack' deserve better accompaniment than another 'she’s a drug to me' cliché."[30]
^"Doorman / slowthai". Tidal. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^"Peace of Mind / slowthai". Tidal. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^"Gorgeous / slowthai". Tidal. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^"Nothing Great About Britain / slowthai". Tidal. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^"Nothing Great About Britain by slowthai". iTunes. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^ abReilly, Nick (28 March 2019). "Nothing Great About Britain: Slowthai announces details of debut album". NME. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^ abc"Nothing Great About Britain by slowthai Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
^Daly, Rhian (22 February 2019). "Slowthai announces debut album and shares surreal 'Peace of Mind' video". NME. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^Kent-Smith, Jasmine (30 March 2019). "Slowthai to release debut album 'Nothing Great About Britain' in May". mixmag.net. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^"slowthai Hottest Record". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^"Phil sits in for Annie". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^"Watch "slowthai" on 'Nothing Great About Britain'" posted by Julie Adenuga on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^"slowthai shares title track from 'Nothing Great About Britain'". DIY. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
^Darville, Jordan (16 May 2019). "Slowthai and Skepta face the inquisition in the "Inglorious" video". The Fader. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
^"Nothing Great About Britain by slowthai reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
^ abSimpson, Paul. "Nothing Great About Britain – slowthai". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
^Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (17 May 2019). "Slowthai: Nothing Great about Britain — a social commentary that falls a little flat". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
^ abPetridis, Alexis (16 May 2019). "Slowthai: Nothing Great About Britain review – snarling in the face of power". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
^Cowan, Andy (June 2019). "Slowthai: Nothing Great About Britain". Mojo (307): 96.
^Kasambala, Natty (16 May 2019). "Slowthai – 'Nothing Great About Britain' review". NME. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
^Morris, Damien (19 May 2019). "Slowthai: Nothing Great About Britain review – rage and beguiling honesty". The Observer. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
^ abMonroe, Jazz (21 May 2019). "Slowthai: Nothing Great About Britain". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
^Aroesti, Rachel (July 2019). "Slowthai: Nothing Great About Britain". Q (399): 114.
^Hodgkinson, Will (17 May 2019). "Slowthai: Nothing Great About Britain review". The Times. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
^Pattison, Louis (July 2019). "Slowthai: Nothing Great About Britain". Uncut (266): 34.
^Cowan, Yasmin (16 May 2019). "slowthai – Nothing Great About Britain". Clash. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
^Hawkes, Jake (16 May 2019). "Slowthai – Nothing Great About Britain". Dork. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
^"#Bandcampgold-Best U.K. Albums of 2019". 5 September 2019.
^Critten, Tom (14 May 2019). "slowthai – Nothing Great About Britain – Album review". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
^Devlin, Ben (21 May 2019). "Slowthai – Nothing Great About Britain". musicOMH. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
^"Лучшие зарубежные альбомы 2019 года" [The Best Foreign Albums of 2019]. Afisha Daily. 26 December 2019.
^"Nothing Great About Britain (Deluxe) / slowthai". Tidal. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
^"Irish Albums Chart: 24 May 2019". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
^"British album certifications – Slowthai – Nothing Great About Britain". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
November 12, 2023
nothing, great, about, britain, debut, studio, album, british, rapper, slowthai, released, 2019, method, records, album, features, guest, appearances, from, british, rappers, jaykae, skepta, well, production, credits, from, kwes, darko, mura, masa, punk, rock,. Nothing Great About Britain is the debut studio album by British rapper Slowthai It was released on 17 May 2019 via Method Records 5 The album features guest appearances from British rappers Jaykae and Skepta as well as production credits from Kwes Darko Mura Masa and punk rock band Slaves 6 Nothing Great About BritainStudio album by SlowthaiReleased17 May 2019 2019 05 17 GenreBritish hip hoppolitical hip hopgrimeLength32 33 standard 51 46 deluxe LabelMethod RecordsProducerKwes DarkoMura MasaAnish BhattJD ReidSlavesEarbudsSlowthai chronologyNothing Great About Britain 2019 Tyron 2021 Singles from Nothing Great About Britain Doorman Released 19 November 2018 1 Peace of Mind Released 19 February 2019 2 Gorgeous Released 28 March 2019 3 Nothing Great About Britain Released 3 May 2019 4 Nothing Great About Britain was released to widespread critical acclaim At Metacritic which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream critics the album has received a score of 82 based on 15 reviews 7 Contents 1 Background and release 2 Reception 2 1 Critical reception 2 2 Year end rankings 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 5 Charts 6 Certifications 7 See also 8 ReferencesBackground and release editThe album title was announced on 22 February 2019 following the premiere of single Peace of Mind 8 The album s artwork tracklisting and release date were then announced by slowthai amidst his UK tour on 28 March 2019 9 6 The album s lead single Doorman a collaboration with electronic music producer Mura Masa was released on 19 November 2018 shortly after its premiere as BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac s Hottest Record 10 The second single Peace of Mind was released on 19 February 2019 shortly after its premiere as BBC Radio 1 DJ Phil Taggart s Hottest Record 11 Third single Gorgeous was released on 28 March 2019 shortly after its premiere on Julie Adenuga s Beats 1 show 12 The title track was released as the album s fourth single on 3 May 2019 13 A music video for Inglorious featuring Skepta was released on 16 May 2019 14 Reception editCritical reception edit Professional ratingsAggregate scoresSourceRatingAnyDecentMusic 7 7 10 15 Metacritic82 100 7 Review scoresSourceRatingAllMusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 16 Financial Times nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 17 The Guardian nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 18 Mojo nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 19 NME nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 20 The Observer nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 21 Pitchfork8 4 10 22 Q nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 23 The Times nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 24 Uncut7 10 25 Nothing Great About Britain was met with critical acclaim by music critics upon its initial release At Metacritic which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics the album has an average score of 82 based on 15 reviews indicating universal acclaim 7 Amongst those praising the album was AllMusic s Paul Simpson who judged that His debut album far surpasses the promise of those early tracks tackling similar topics but with a much sharper focus 16 In a review for Clash Yasmin Cowan wrote slowthai systematically and seamlessly tears down toxic politics misguided notions of nationalism and social injustices with sardonic wit seething vocals and woundingly skittish beats 26 Jake Hawkes also rated the album positively in a review for Dork claiming that the album is a triumph of a debut genre straddling quick witted and most importantly very fun to listen to In it Slowthai sticks two fingers up at the Britain of blue passports the royals and the Tory party while simultaneously raising up the alternative Britain one of family and working class pride 27 Dan O of Freemusicempire was clear that the promise of Slowthai s future is the real takeaway Nothing Great About Britain is a debut so he hasn t been steered into any lanes yet You can feel the specificity in his perspective pairing with the ease of his skill and joyful thump of the sonic universe Don t worry what number this is on the best of the year list Numbers don t matter here slowthai is here and fun to listen to 28 Alexis Petridis gave the album a full five star rating in a review for The Guardian calling it Clever bleak funny bracing aware of a broad musical heritage but never in thrall to it after you hear Nothing Great About Britain it s even more obvious why Slowthai stands out 18 Tom Critten gave similar praise in a review for Loud and Quiet Brutally honest and amusingly witty with his flow aggressive and dynamic with his production work and captivatingly appealing with his charm and charisma all taken together it assembles a hugely impressive compelling and socially important listen And whilst it s a damning verdict on the current climate all hope is not surrendered after all a full scale disavow of Britain does not feel like it s reached in his prose 29 Jazz Monroe also gave a positive review for Pitchfork stating that Nothing Great About Britain avoids cross generational pandering and bypasses territorial arguments over the borders of grime and UK rap What binds the album is slowthai s soul his meticulously drawn characters his affinity for left behind outsiders 22 While the album was well regarded by most reviewers some were more critical of it Ben Devlin questioned the praise it received in a review for musicOMH asking what is there apart from these homages and imitations Not much The production shines at times for example the punky thrash of Mura Masa produced Doorman but it s undermined with clangers like you make me melt sun ice cream and the sub bass tones of Crack deserve better accompaniment than another she s a drug to me cliche 30 Year end rankings edit Year end and decade end lists Publication Accolade Rank Ref Afisha Daily Russia The Best Foreign Albums of 2019 12 31 Track listing editCredits adapted from Tidal 32 No TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Nothing Great About Britain Tyron FramptonKwes DarkoDarko3 092 Doorman with Mura Masa FramptonAlexander CrossanMura Masa3 043 Dead Leaves FramptonDarkoDarko2 484 Gorgeous FramptonDarkoDarko4 155 Crack FramptonPoppy AjudahAnish BhattBhattSlowthai a 2 166 Grow Up featuring Jaykae FramptonJordan Day ReidJanum KhanJD Reid3 007 Inglorious featuring Skepta FramptonReidJoseph Junior AdenugaJD Reid3 088 Toaster FramptonDarkoDarko3 049 Peace of Mind FramptonDarkoDarko2 2710 Missing FramptonDarkoLaurence VincentIsaac HolmanDarkoSlaves a 2 2011 Northampton s Child FramptonDarkoDarko3 02Total length 32 33 Digital deluxe bonus tracksNo TitleWriter s Producer s Length12 Drug Dealer FramptonDarkoReidJD Reid3 0813 North Nights FramptonDarkoDarko3 3214 Rainbow FramptonDarkoReidDarkoJD Reid2 4415 Ladies FramptonDarkoDarko3 1916 Polaroid FramptonDarko3 3617 T N Biscuits FramptonBhattSamuel CastillanoEarbuds2 46Total length 51 35 Notes a signifies a co producer Personnel editTechnicalMixed by Michalis MsM Michael except Doorman mixed by Kwes Darko Mastered by Henkka NiemistoDesignArt direction James Hamilton Artwork production and project manager Andy Picton Artwork production assistants Sonni Wibaut and Tom Griffiths Artwork stylist Daniel Pacitti Creative director Lewis Levi Graphic design George Smith Photography Crowns amp Owls assisted by Giles Smith and Will ReidCharts editChart 2019 PeakpositionIrish Albums IRMA 33 64Scottish Albums OCC 34 18UK Albums OCC 35 9UK R amp B Albums OCC 36 1Certifications editRegion Certification Certified units salesUnited Kingdom BPI 37 Silver 60 000 Sales streaming figures based on certification alone See also editList of UK R amp B Albums Chart number ones of 2019References edit Doorman slowthai Tidal Retrieved 13 May 2019 Peace of Mind slowthai Tidal Retrieved 13 May 2019 Gorgeous slowthai Tidal Retrieved 13 May 2019 Nothing Great About Britain slowthai Tidal Retrieved 13 May 2019 Nothing Great About Britain by slowthai iTunes Retrieved 13 May 2019 a b Reilly Nick 28 March 2019 Nothing Great About Britain Slowthai announces details of debut album NME Retrieved 13 May 2019 a b c Nothing Great About Britain by slowthai Reviews and Tracks Metacritic Retrieved 13 December 2019 Daly Rhian 22 February 2019 Slowthai announces debut album and shares surreal Peace of Mind video NME Retrieved 13 May 2019 Kent Smith Jasmine 30 March 2019 Slowthai to release debut album Nothing Great About Britain in May mixmag net Retrieved 13 May 2019 slowthai Hottest Record BBC Radio 1 Retrieved 13 May 2019 Phil sits in for Annie BBC Radio 1 Retrieved 13 May 2019 Watch slowthai on Nothing Great About Britain posted by Julie Adenuga on Apple Music Apple Music Retrieved 13 May 2019 slowthai shares title track from Nothing Great About Britain DIY 3 May 2019 Retrieved 13 May 2019 Darville Jordan 16 May 2019 Slowthai and Skepta face the inquisition in the Inglorious video The Fader Retrieved 17 May 2019 Nothing Great About Britain by slowthai reviews AnyDecentMusic Retrieved 6 August 2019 a b Simpson Paul Nothing Great About Britain slowthai AllMusic Retrieved 25 July 2019 Hunter Tilney Ludovic 17 May 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great about Britain a social commentary that falls a little flat Financial Times Retrieved 9 August 2019 a b Petridis Alexis 16 May 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain review snarling in the face of power The Guardian Retrieved 16 May 2019 Cowan Andy June 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain Mojo 307 96 Kasambala Natty 16 May 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain review NME Retrieved 28 November 2019 Morris Damien 19 May 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain review rage and beguiling honesty The Observer Retrieved 9 August 2019 a b Monroe Jazz 21 May 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain Pitchfork Retrieved 21 May 2019 Aroesti Rachel July 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain Q 399 114 Hodgkinson Will 17 May 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain review The Times Retrieved 9 August 2019 Pattison Louis July 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain Uncut 266 34 Cowan Yasmin 16 May 2019 slowthai Nothing Great About Britain Clash Retrieved 16 May 2019 Hawkes Jake 16 May 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain Dork Retrieved 16 May 2019 Bandcampgold Best U K Albums of 2019 5 September 2019 Critten Tom 14 May 2019 slowthai Nothing Great About Britain Album review Loud and Quiet Retrieved 17 May 2019 Devlin Ben 21 May 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain musicOMH Retrieved 25 July 2019 Luchshie zarubezhnye albomy 2019 goda The Best Foreign Albums of 2019 Afisha Daily 26 December 2019 Nothing Great About Britain Deluxe slowthai Tidal Retrieved 17 May 2019 Irish Albums Chart 24 May 2019 Irish Recorded Music Association Retrieved 25 May 2019 Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 25 May 2019 Official Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 25 May 2019 Official R amp B Albums Chart Top 40 Official Charts Company Retrieved 11 July 2019 British album certifications Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain British Phonographic Industry Retrieved 6 October 2021 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nothing Great About Britain amp oldid 1073613733, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
