Music Bloodline

The Streets

Under alias, U.K. rapper Mike Skinner unleashed critically revered albums of deliriously neurotic, often hilarious, always reverent hip-hop.

Biography

Rapper Mike Skinner, better known by his hip-hop moniker the Streets, burst onto the British music scene with his 2002 debut album Original Pirate Material. Coming off like a hip-hop version of Ian Dury, Skinner rapped in a thick British accent about the details of everyday working-class life in England, with a sense of humor and social commentary that few others brought to the British grime movement. He was musically innovative as well, utilizing a sonic framework that incorporated the influences of drum'n'bass, garage, 2-step, and ragga, as well as standard hip-hop beats. ~ Andrew Leahey