Review Summary: Boldest ninja, creep in the coldest winter...
Within the grime scene, there are few as singularly talented or as impressively versatile as Justin 'Ghetts' Clarke-Samuels. My first exposure to him came around a decade ago during Radio One’s FITB Cypher in 2014- a since-retired annual event in which participants in Charlie Sloth’s 'Fire In The Booth' series would return and take turns spitting over classic beats mixed by the host. During 2014’s episode, Sloth threw in an unusual choice of backing track- a remix of James Brown’s ‘Super Bad’ still retaining the classic rhythm and various vocal samples. Another rapper in the cypher, Mic Righteous, incredulously asks Sloth, ‘what’s this?!’ before Ghetts seizes the microphone and begins rhyming in his signature style. He corrects a false start seamlessly, catches the beat effortlessly, and perfectly pre-empts the flow of the rhythm. He then accosts scene mainstay Stormzy, and visibly awes him with how perfectly he rides the music with the breakneck pace of his lyrics. As someone not too invested in the grime scene back in 2014, this was a jaw-dropping introduction for me, and cemented Ghetts as a frontrunner amongst the throngs of emerging artists of the day.
That video was a long time ago now, and Ghetts has continued to build upon his talent ever since. Like all lyricists, he has misstepped on a few occasions, but his ability at this point is crystallised as one of the greatest rapping talents in British history. On Purpose, With Purpose makes good on the title's promise as a purposeful selection of feature-heavy, varied, precise cuts, but also on Ghetts’ own promise as an artist; a duality he has previously struggled with. From the airiness on the beat of the album’s introduction, paired with the personal subject matter and flow switch-ups, the rapper has a wealth of topics on his mind. There is a slick balance manifest throughout Purpose, with bangers, afrobeat compositions and emotionally-driven jams wedged shoulder-to-shoulder with a contradictory cohesion that should not exist given the tonal change-ups. A good example is the transition between 'Laps' and 'Twin Sisters', the former a bassy, teeth-gritting thumper, the latter a spacey, melodic dirge. Despite the contrasting vibes, there is a sinister throughline that runs through the two tracks; the glintingly haughty pace of the first cut retrieved by the slowed vocal sample on the beat of the second. Purpose is loaded with such considerations of consistency, not just within singular moments, but all throughout the lengthy project.
The album’s mellower efforts, such as the politically-focussed ‘Double Standards’, are able to marry substance with style effectively, despite the twee nature of some of the choruses utilised. The piano loops and samples in the aforementioned track are scattershot but blend intuitively into the tapestry of the track, and mirror the content by mimicking the multitudinous directions Ghetts aims his incisive bars. Later album spots ‘Mine’, and ‘Hallelujah’ are similarly adroit in how they complement the rapper’s abilities, with ‘Hallelujah’ being particularly worthy of praise. Preceded by the brief transition melody ‘More Than I Required’, which serves both as an outro for the preceding track and an intro for this, it is an initially restrained, even corny song with a slightly overbearing piano hook. Yet, as it progresses, more elements are added to the beat and Ghetts’ delivery becomes increasingly animated. By the midpoint, it is a pensive sermon, blisteringly earnest and bubbling with a barely-suppressed emotion to offset the gospel-inflection of the musicality. It’s impressively risky, well-orchestrated and multi-faceted in a way much too uncommon within the scene.
Despite the album’s calmer moments, Purpose is also double-barrel loaded with raucous energy. ‘Anakin (Red Saber)’, ‘Blood On My Hands’, ‘Stylish Nxxxa’ and ‘Laps’ is an early album run of certified bangers, full of energy and enough head-wobbling bass to blow out your car speakers. ‘Blood On My Hands’ is a vicious, sparse, even catchy call-to-arms that makes use of a trilling oscillation in the background of the beat, affording the cut an unsettling, menacing aura. It’s also home to some of Purpose’s most venomous bars, with Ghetts decreeing,
'...bang in the face, slash in the neck,
that one there's not deep enough,
splash him again.
Woke up with a dry throat and a blade in my hand,
mmhmm, I'm too bloodthirsty,
it's either I slide on my own,
or find out the hard way who's trustworthy...'
such impressive visual lyricism and targeted nastiness are classic Ghetts staples, but they're balanced intuitively with the emotional weight of Purpose's more considered topicality, which encompasses politics, criminality, corruption, the family home and ageing, to name a few. In such instances, Ghetts is capable of some striking emotional vulnerability, as showcased by the R&B Jamaican flavour of ‘Gbedu’. It serves as the backdrop for some fine writing, the smoky atmosphere of the song a fine pairing for such smooth bars as,
'If I only had three wishes I'd wish for you,
then give you two,
and if I only had three women,
I'd ditch the two,
just for you.'
Even though the final run of the album comprises a selection of slower compositions, they retain thematic heaviness and pertinence, with ‘Street Politics’ a noteworthy example; dreamy and hazy, but slickly offset by the unflinching nature of the subject matter:
'My man's a militant, they didn't care,
I swear a bullet missed my ear.
Look what you man have got me in,
this isn't fair,
I was just coming home from college,
and I nearly got bodied,
the police think I'm a banger just because I'm living here...'
All of the featured artists make a fine effort on their respective tracks but Kano & Wretch 32 ('Mount Rushmore'), Sampha ('Double Standards') and Dexta Dapps ('Hallelujah') deserve special credit for their tasteful contributions, leaving a lasting impression under their own names but also assisting Ghetts in magnifying his own ability in smartly implemented ways.
Ghetts sealed his reputation many moons ago, but Purpose is such an important reminder of just why he is so deserving of his status. Still deft and graceful as a dancer mid-pirouette and icy as a barrel against your forehead, the content here is honed for maximum impact at every turn. It's a shade overlong and overuse of certain choruses dampen the calculated effect of a few songs, but these flaws are barely noticeable when set against how gut-punch raw and earnest the writing is. The use of strings, pianos and a smattering of other orchestral components within the music are inspired and brave considering scene expectations for an artist such as Ghetts, but the majority of these risks pay off- some of which jaw-droppingly so. Add into this the heavy-handed yet never obnoxious production and the collection percolates with an energetic bombast that knows precisely when to pull punches, and when to let them spark the listener lights-out. Ghetts’ previous album, Conflict Of Interest, was an entertaining and focused record that was light on one thing this album has in spades; variety. Thematically, sonically, lyrically, this is a rich collection of songs that toys with expectations throughout, by turns hand-holding the listener and then casting them aside with disdain. It’s a journey, and, lengthy as it is, it's one that deserves to be experienced by anyone with an interest in what the UK urban music scene has been cooking lately.
