10 Most Underrated Hip-Hop Albums Of All Time
7. The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
It’s fair to say that Mike Skinner’s UK garage project peaked with his first two records, the unimpeachable Original Pirate Material and A Grand Don’t Come For Free. While his third record is notably weaker, though, it should be talked about if not in the same breath then at least in the one after.
The track everyone seemed to save their praise for was “Never Went To Church”, a moving song in the same vein as “Dry Your Eyes”, paying tribute to Skinner’s late father. More fun, though, are the tracks that capture the position Skinner was in at this time of his life.
Suddenly famous and absolutely not ready for it, he depicts his low point on “Pranging Out”, a paranoid tune with effectively atonal crooning from Skinner. He recounts how his cocaine use alienated everyone around him, landing him in rehab on “When You Wasn’t Famous”. This is The Streets at their best, a cheeky, witty track about Skinner’s daliance with an unknown (and much speculated-over) pop star.
The best is saved for last - “Fake Streets Hats”, the hilariously pathetic tale of a drugged up Skinner stopping a show to accuse an audience member - erroneously - of bootlegging band merchandise. It’s an imperfect but necessary album - this kind of bile needs to leave your system one way or another.