The Streets (UK): Mike Skinner (vocals).
Additional personnel: Leo The Lion, Ny, Ted Mayhem, The Wayne Hart Singers, Example, Jackie Rawe, Teddy Mitchell, Laura Vane (vocals); Morgan Nicholls (guitar); Eddie Jenkins (keyboards); Johnny Drum Machine (drums).
Recording information: The Shed, Bristol, England (2006).
As much as Mike Skinner's first two albums chronicled the life of a young working-class British lad struggling to make it in contemporary England, the Streets' third album THE HARDEST WAY TO MAKE AN EASY LIVING is a quasi-concept album about the vagaries of fame and fortune. Rather than rapping about pints, geezers, and Playstations, Skinner's conversational, slang-laden lyrics here are about girls who wouldn't look twice at him before he was a star (the single "When You Wasn't Famous"), the difficulties of coming up with new material ("The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living"), and record company battles ("Fake Streets Hats"). A mere three strong albums into his career, Skinner's Everyman delivery and stripped-down, basement beats have come to exemplify British hip-hop.
What the critics say...
Rolling Stone (p.56) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Skinner is still a singular rhymer, mixing up soused spluttering, joke asides and change-on-a-dime rhythm patterns with witty narrative detail..."
Spin (p.60) - Ranked #18 in Spin's "The 40 Best Albums of 2006" -- "[The lyrics] retain the warm, intimate vibe of his earlier stuff."
Entertainment Weekly (p.135) - "EASY LIVING undercuts potential mo' money, mo' problems cliches with a cheeky self-awareness that transcends national borders." -- Grade: A-
Uncut (p.110) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The lad may get up to no good, but his oeuvre comprises acts of supreme redemption. This is Act III."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his is a fast-moving set of vignettes which rides its giddy hooks hard....He remains one of Britain's great storytellers."
