Skepta is in a unique spot in UK rap in that, he broke out and genuinely went global. What was interesting is that Skepta was absolutely equipped with the stardom placed on his shoulders, but there was a nagging feeling something didn’t sit right with him. It’s not that he was a reluctant star, but rather, things surrounding it didn’t interest him.

Sure, it’s nice to be able to afford the trappings that come with increased sales, but along with the rest of his supremely talented family – sister Julie Adenuga, and brother JME – they always seemed to march to the beat of their own drum, and in Skepta’s case, there was a sense of him being ushered toward the kind of career you’d see everywhere else, and it wasn’t for him.

So, he laid low somewhat and has returned with an album dealing with what’s on his mind. He’d said of this new album that it was “a liberating album, of immigrant trauma that was transformed into hyperfocus and success”, and that there was “some conscious stuff on there too.”

Throughout the album, Skepta’s eye turns to feeling overworked and remembering his poor mother seeing him in a cell, to the “no Blacks, no dogs, no Irish” signs his parents endured when growing up in London, to the nonsense of men not crying – it’s clear he’s got a lot to get off his chest, and honestly, it suits him.

Those just wanting a retreat of previous UK Grime may be left wanting, but Skepta’s not a kid hustling anymore, and his tastes have always been broader than Boy Better Know bangers. On the Project Pat featuring ‘Cold Shower’, one of the more interesting beats on the record, and sounds for all the world like a track that could rattle the windows in Mephis as much as it could in Tottenham.

Of course, there’s still some of that swagger from the Skep’ of old, as ‘Gas Me Up’ is testament to. It’ll go off in the clubs and at the festivals, but it’s elsewhere that the album is at its most interesting. ‘Aloe Vera’ with Asake is a global chugger worth your entrance fee, and the all-star cast on ‘Belly’ sounds like Grime beamed in from the future – more tetchy and disjointed to the point of sounding like it could be on Warp Records.

On ‘Pandora’s Box’, we hear about someone takes too much coke, who makes themselves anxious, and how far away he feels from the man he knew. It’s actually quite a tough listen, in a good way. A cautionary tale of addiction and not helping yourself.

Nah, there’s no saving a man, it’s no surprise
That he’s hanging with strangers on the road at night
Talking to everybody like shit
But if you’ve got any drugs, then he’s so polite
“I’m tryna be like you,” bro, you know the type
He’s got his eyes wide open
I’m looking through the window to his soul, I can see my guy’s broken

And you think back to the start of the LP, and think of the grim rhetoric around immigrants, and through the hard work and successes, a voice kicks things off saying “hey brown boy – what kind of a name is Adenuga?” and to saying “Mum, did you see what I done? … I turned my benefits into some millions.”

It’s absolutely right that he should celebrate the successes, but now, he sees the pitfalls that come with them. Instead of turning it into a tawdry tale of how hard it is being famous, Skepta actually flips it on its head and uses his ire for it to make something much more listenable and affecting, than the sadsack rap you hear from some American MCs who want you to know how bad they’ve got it, sadly crooning from some luxury yacht with half a million on their wrist.

Skepta believes in the contrast of his wins with the difficulty of losing his way only to find it again. We’ll have to see how this ages, but on first lesson, this is the most meaningful lyricism we’ve had from him in a while, and that’s a good thing.

And perhaps the most telling line on the whole project is when he passes the baton: “I don’t want a ‘thank you’ from a young G – it’s your world… have it… it’s yours.” Skepta’s all grown up, and acting like it, but don’t worry, it’s not cringe preaching – it’s still your cocky older brother filling you in on what’s what.