Rappers from the UK tend to betray a wide-eyed awe and respect for pop culture that's long gone from their excess-driven, hubris-laden American counterparts. It's warming to hear Skepta recall bopping on the dance floor envious of the DJ and watching Michael Jackson moonwalk on the telly—he dominates Blood Orange's "High Street" with a lucid self-reflective verse between Dev Hynes' wistful chorus. The two stalk London streets under a night sky and perform before a row of city buses, inverting the common rap video cliche of spitting in front of a fleet of luxury cars. It's moody stuff—heavy for a hump day—but refreshingly sincere.
