Tag: Fred again..

Skepta – “Skepta .. Fred” review

London, England, United Kingdom rapper, songwriter & producer Skepta teaming up with local producer Fred again.. for his 3rd EP. A co-founder the Boy Better Know collective, a lot of people in the state including myself didn’t hop on board with him until almost a decade ago when he dropped his 4th album Konnichiwa to critical acclaim. This was followed up a couple years back with both Ignorance is Bliss & All In being welcomed to moderate reception, but the Skepta .. Fred singles had me anticipating this much more.

“Back 2 Back” fuses grime & dubstep together so he can talk about the recognition he’s gotten throughout his career whereas “London” carries over the styles of the previous track preferring to play the villain than the victim. “Last 1s Left” turns the dubstep influences up to talk about being the last of a dying breed while the soulful “21 Years” reflects on these past couple decades. “Victory Lap” co-produced by PlaqueBoyMax ends with a nod to the local community platform of the same name.

Both teasers that we’ve gotten these past few months confirms the speculation I had regarding Skepta doing a whole EP with Fred again.. & as I would’ve thought, it reveals itself to be the most cutting edge project he’s put out since Konnichiwa celebrating it’s 10-year anniversary next spring. Fred’s production plays well into the Boy Better Know co-founder’s grime style that he helped lay out the foundation for & simultaneously places electronic dance music as a secondary influence.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Fred again.. – “10 Days” review

Fred again.. is a 31 year old producer, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & DJ from London, England, United Kingdom who broke out in 2021 off the debut album Actual Life for it’s amalgamation of sounds including future garage, deep house, alternative R&B, UK Bass, UK Funky, stutter house, spoken word & ambient house. Atlantic Records signed Fred shortly after & he’s been making himself home there ever since, gaining more attention putting out Actual Life 2 & Actual Life 3 through the major label. 23 months later, Fred’s celebrating his experiences over the last 365 days on his 4th LP.

After the “.1” intro, the first song “adore u” by Obongjayar is an afrobeats opener singing about his woman being so much better at everything than him sink lower in his chair since there’s no comparison whereas “10” featuring Jozzy & Jim Legxacy after the “.2” skit blends deep house, melodic house, alternative R&B, future garage, garage house, stutter house & lo-fi house going over a week in a foreign ends without their partners. After the “.3” skit, “fear less” by Sampha takes the spacious R&B route telling their lovers they protect them from their fears leading into “just stand there” after the “.4” skit bringing spoken word & house together.

After the “.5” skit, “places to be” by Anderson .Paak & CHIKA goes liquid drum & bass talking about having to be somewhere preferably with their significant others beside them while “glow” after the “.6” skit co-produced with 4 Tet & Skrillex cooks up a 7 & a half minute EDM banger for all the raves. “i saw you” after the “.7” skit euphorically sings about refusing to let go of a specific version of this woman just before the violin-laced “where will i be” by Emmylou Harris after the “.8” skit tells the story of an Indian boy she met in Ottawa.

After the “.9” skit, the penultimate song “peace u need again” featuring Snoh Aalegra nears the conclusion of 10 Days by whipping up a 6 & a half minute house anthem that Joy Anonymous helped laced hoping that everyone listening finds the peace they’re looking for & need in their lives again while “backseat” by The Japanese House after the “.10” skit finishes Fred’s 3rd offering with Atlantic talking about going a little crazy & needing someone to save them.

Landing production credits for the likes of Rico Nasty to Eminem & more recently ¥$ has further elevated Fred again..’s popularity including the 2 loosie singles “leavemealone” & “stayinit”. Regardless if I don’t know why they didn’t make the cut, 10 Days is an excellent way for Fred to move past the Actual Life trilogy. His production culminates in deep house, melodic house, alternative R&B, future garage, garage house, stutter house, lo-fi house, afrobeats and liquid drum & bass teaching us the most memorable moments stem from very small quiet intimate portions.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!