Last summer, Skepta was feeling uncertain about his future. The Tottenham-born rapper, winner of the 2016 Mercury Prize and the figure who has done more than anyone to put grime music on the world stage had begun wondering whether he would ever MC on another grime record again. He had written on Instagram that rapping was a ‘waste of talent’ and that his 2021 EP, All In, would be his last. He had also become a father for the second time — he now has a one-year-old son as well as his four-year-old daughter, River — and was having a hard time reconciling the focused aggression required for rap with the ‘dad swag’ required to be a decent father.
He flew to Ibiza ‘just to party’ ahead of his 40th birthday — and it was here that he had a vision. It took the form of house legend Carl Cox. The pair were introduced by a mutual friend and Skepta couldn’t help noticing that Cox — pioneer of the three-deck mix, Ibiza summer resident since 1985 — was still absolutely loving it in his seventh decade. ‘He was talking to me and I was thinking: “Wow, you’re like in your 60s and your show is sold out tonight,”’ says Skepta. ‘He had a drink in his hand, he was introducing me to his family, he was talking and I couldn’t even hear him any more — I was just staring at him. It was inspirational. I turned to [my tour manager] Paddy and I was like: we need to get back to the essence. I want to speak to the guys and see what happens.’
