The Singles Jukebox

Pop, to two decimal places.

Slowthai ft. Skepta – Inglorious

That movie is now ten years old, so, uh, yeah…


[Video]
[6.33]

Edward Okulicz: The “inglorious bastard” reference feels roughly as outdated as the Ace Ventura one, which makes me think that Slowthai is too much of a nerd to fill the shoes this nicely foreboding track requires. Now, Skepta, he makes the air of menace fun. Which is rude of him, but that is his thing too. Bless him.
[6]

Ashley Bardhan: Lyrically, “Inglorious” is pretty straightforward clever arrogance, it’s nothing new. My favorite line: “I’m teabagging your favorite mug.” The lyrics aren’t what make this track, though. Slowthai sounds like he can’t breathe air fast enough, the words fall out low and sticky. Like getting your sneaker stuck on chewing gum on the hot sidewalk. The drums that pierce this track are tinny and punchy and the creaky organ-sounding melody is soupy. Skepta’s verse is a smooth blade cutting through the clunking styrofoam of everything else. This song is so crusty it circled back to smooth again. 
[8]

Nortey Dowuona: Heady, warped synths pike upon brassy, exhuberant bass drums as Slowthai gleefully rides the beat while Skepta walks alongside it, looking slightly intrigued.
[9]

David Moore: A sludgy track full of unconvincing menace, not least because of the unmistakable impression I get that Slowthai is a hopeless dork.
[4]

Andy Hutchins: A handy contrast between plodding about and flowing, this: Slowthai never gets out of gear, while Skepta’s off and racing. And that’s the difference between getting side-eyed for suggesting you’ll come back twice as legendary after death in the middle of an unremarkable verse and getting nods in regards to bragging about driving a Wraith like it’s NASCAR. (Also: Abdominal and abominable are not the same word.)
[4]

Julian Axelrod: The most memorable line comes from Skepta, who snarls, “Fuck a tab, I do a whole sheet to myself, by myself.” Fittingly, “Inglorious” sounds like a bad acid trip in slow-motion — even before Slowthai’s Trainspotting reference. The slasher organs suffuse the track with a creeping dread, and Slowthai leans into his reputation as Britain’s greatest menace since Jack the Ripper. His wild-eyed intensity is arresting, not least because he always seems (barely) in control. Skepta’s verse is both more competent and more conventional; he hovers over the upstart MC like the ghost of grime past, an example of where Slowthai could find himself in a decade’s time. Whether he wants to age gracefully is another question entirely.
[7]

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