7/10

After releasing his Mercury Prize winning album 'Konnichiwa' back in 2015, Skepta has hardly kept himself quiet. The last few years have been scattered with a wealth of great one-off singles, which has helped maintain the rapper's reputation as one of the most exciting names working in the scene today. But now he delivers the largest bulk of tracks we have seen from him since his last album, and he still hasn't lost it.

From the first listen, we can tell that 'Vicious' sees him take on a different direction. Rather than opt for the familiar, big-bass grime anthems of the last few years, many of these tracks have a more American sound than we would have expected. He dabbled with this sound of 'Konnichiwa' but it seems the MC is determined to break the US, and these new releases will certainly add some serious ammo to his already extensive back catalogue.

It is definitely a solid release with a great new direction, but not quite the Skepta we have become accustom to. He is growing bigger than the London scene and this is his first venture into an unfamiliar territory.