Skepta is ready to serve up his next chapter.
After years of waiting, the North London artist has confirmed that his new album, 'The Fork and Knife', will officially arrive on November 6, marking his first solo full-length record since 2019’s 'Ignorance Is Bliss'.
Announcing the news on Instagram, Skepta admitted that even reaching this point felt significant. “Feels surreal even writing this,” he said alongside the release date, before directing fans towards the album’s pre-order.
The rapper reflected on his changing relationship with creativity, explaining that he has spent a long time questioning an artistic landscape increasingly dictated by algorithms, endless streams of content and the pressure for artists to constantly perform online. That feeling, he suggested, contributed to why he wasn’t ready to release the record until now.
As the record moved towards completion, another subject entered the conversation: patriarchy. Skepta explained that reading about patriarchal systems encouraged him to look inward at behaviours and ideas people can absorb from childhood without necessarily questioning them.
“I poured my fucking heart out on this album,” Skepta wrote, describing the challenge of creating something conscious without sacrificing the energy that has always existed within his music.
Official details describe a record moving between grime, garage, house, jungle and electronic music, pulling from the sounds Skepta has encountered across decades spent around clubs, raves and sound-system culture.
British and Nigerian identity will run throughout the project, with Skepta examining his position between the two cultures while approaching diaspora as a source of strength. Its accompanying visual world similarly reaches backwards and forwards, pulling from 1980s Nigerian-British imagery, football culture and documentary photography while connecting the history of the Windrush generation with contemporary London.
The announcement arrives alongside pre-orders for physical editions of the record, including CD, standard black double vinyl and an exclusive crystal-clear 2LP pressing.
'The Fork and Knife' arrives November 6.
