At a glance, east London’s Plan B is a gimmick: a hoodie-wearing. perma scowling, Asbo in waiting, with a mouth fouler than Towers Of London's week old Y-fronts. He’s also a rapper who joins himself on acoustic guitar and references Radiohead and Cobain. You can almost hear a marketing manager rubbing his hands with glee. But go beneath the obvious Marshall Mathers influences and you’ll see that while Plan B creates characters who shout bleak, brutal words about drugs, murder and absent fathers there is a strict moral tone. He doesn't glorify nastiness. Instead, ultra-violence is the road to nowhere: the Damilola Taylor inspired ’Kidz’. Drugs will eventually ruin you: the Rage Against The Machine-driven ‘No More Eatin”. a rap that rushes with the deadly thrill of an out-of-control car racing down a hill.
All these elements, which should jar, coalesce into a complete urban vision that showcases Plan B’s rare talent, it’s a world of casual violence and worthless, dead end lives. His world may be grittier, but Plan B’s up there with Alex Turner as a lyricist, crafting simple and darkly witty songs about the reality of life in Britain. It's the brilliantly foul-mouthed sound of the summer.
Track Listings
01. Kidz
02. Sick 2 Def
03. No Good
04. Dead & Buried
05. Mama
06. Charmaine
07. I Don’T Hate You
08. Everyday
09. Tough Love
10. Where Ya From?
11. No More Eatin’
12. Missin’ Links
13. Couldn’T Get Along
14. Who Needs Actions
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