Slowthai — TYRON
From a tough upbringing in Northampton to gaining worldwide acclaim on his debut album Nothing Great About Britain, and collaborations with Gorillaz and Tyler, the Creator sprinkled in, it’s clear that slowthai is living a life nothing like anyone else. The UK rapper has released TYRON, which takes the focus off of the difficulties facing the country he hails from and instead puts himself under the microscope.
The immediate thing to notice on this record is the juxtaposition between the two halves. It is kicked off with the all caps, in your face energy that was so ever-present on his debut. VEX is the highlight of the first half, bringing exactly what you want from a slowthai banger. Showcasing his vocal flexibility, contorting in every direction with an expertly crafted, catchy yet aggressive hook.
DEAD is the darkest moment on the album. The production hits you over the head, incapacitates you and creeps into your ears. It feels like some respite is needed to save slowthai and PLAY WITH FIRE is exactly that. A wonderful transition to the mellow, lower case second half, the song is an amalgamation of the album so far. With the outro taking on a more conversational tone, slowthai interjects himself ‘fuck all these expectation, don’t be scared to be yourself’ and that introspective feel carries through to the end of the album.
Some of the tracks lack the sincerity and brashness of Nothing Great About Britain. terms features an out of place, forgettable Dominic Fike hook with an underused Denzel Curry, and CANCELLED feels a little contradictory after the events that got him in trouble at NME awards and the following apology he made.
However, feel away is a highlight not just on this album, but on slowthai’s whole discography. James Blake comes with what is easily the best feature on this album, he adds a whole new cathartic dimension to the feel of TYRON, like the whole record was building up to his verse. Add that to beautiful instrumental from Mount Kimbie and a heartfelt verse from slowthai, and you get a truly great song in a lane of its own, one that I’d love slowthai to explore more.
adhd brings the album full circle and reflects it in itself, from a mellow first half of the song which carries into slowthai letting loose more than he’s ever shown with a brutally, viscerally honest verse.
His slurred and slow way of talking is what earned him his rap name, but what stood out to me on this record was the opposite. He shows quick wit coupled with sharp rhyming and word play, perhaps why the album is titled after his real name. Having a clear distinction between the first and second half of the album is an interesting concept to bring and it does work. Slowthai is able to portray two sides of his character side by side and show off his sonic versatility. This can’t be pigeonholed into simply a UK rap album. It shows every facet of Tyron Frampton, a growing person still on the road to where he wants to be.
