On his Top Ten-charting debut full-length,
Nothing Great About Britain,
slowthai addressed topics concerning Brexit-era England, particularly the widening wage gap and the struggle of the working class. Aggressive and acerbic, the Northampton-born rapper openly mocked high society on standouts like the title track and the punk-infused "Doorman," yet displayed a vulnerable side with songs such as "Northampton's Child" and "Peace of Mind," which reflected on his tumultuous upbringing. His second album is titled after his given first name, and it focuses on the rapper's own complex personality, exposing his inner conflicts and embracing his flaws and contradictions. The first half of the album contains capitalized song titles, and it goes harder than any of his previous material. On the tense, chilling "45 SMOKE," he states that people refer to him as "Satan's son," and grime pioneer
Skepta joins him on "CANCELLED," a scathing reaction to the backlash which followed
slowthai's uncomfortable appearance at the 2020 NME Awards, during which he threw a microphone and jumped into the crowd. Following aggressive gang boasts such as "VEX" and the
A$AP Rocky-assisted "MAZZA," the more melodic, gunshot-riddled "PLAY WITH FIRE" unexpectedly shifts into a slower tempo as
slowthai lowers his voice, setting the tone for the album's more introspective, lowercase-titled second half. He laments his broken dreams over the warm, nostalgic boom-bap of "i tried," and "focus" reveals that despite his devil-may-care attitude, he misses his family and he's determined to improve his life. Later songs such as "push" (featuring
Deb Never) and "nhs" sport gauzy guitars and delicate beats, as
slowthai reflects on desire and the necessity of maintaining a balance in life. The only song on the album which focuses entirely on a relationship is the confessional "feel away," which features
Mount Kimbie and
James Blake, who nearly ends up taking over the track. Final track "adhd" starts out with numbed rapping about
slowthai's emotional conditions and coping mechanisms before he rings up a close friend to tell him how much he's loved and missed, then ends the album with a few bars of cathartic shouting. While
slowthai has always been praised for his honesty, he reveals more of himself on
Tyron than before, and it's equally as compelling as the sharp social commentary of his debut. ~ Paul Simpson
![Don't Take It Personal [Yellow Red Splatter Vinyl]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5053760112808_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Don't Take It Personal [Yellow Red Splatter Vinyl]")
![We're All Alone In This Together [2 LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602445214655_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "We're All Alone In This Together [2 LP]")
