Grime Pioneer Skepta Announces First Album In Five Years: “Knife and Fork” 

Skepta is returning to his first love, announcing his sixth studio album, Knife and Fork, set to arrive later this month. 

The pioneering Grime artist’s last solo offering was 2019’s Ignorance Is Bliss, which reached No. 2 in the U.K. chart. Skepta took to Instagram on New Year’s Day to acknowledge fans’ pleas and announce Knife and Fork and its lead single.  

“It’s been years since I dropped my last album and I want to thank you for all the love during my hiatus,” he began. “I’ve seen the messages, tweets and Tik Toks, I’m truly grateful that my music is still resonating with the world even in my absence.” 

He continued, “I’m happy to announce my next studio album #KnifeAndFork is loading, the first single #GasMeUp (Diligent) will be out January 26th.” 

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Skepta concluded his post with a reminder of his upcoming Big Smoke Festival. The inaugural event is set to take place over two stages in South East London’s Crystal Palace Park on July 6. The Más Tiempo Stage is named after the house music record label Skepta and fellow U.K. grime legend and Boy Better Know member Jammer recently launched last year.  

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During a recent appearance on Capital Xtra, Skepta explained the Big Smoke Festival was created to open doors for overlooked artists. 

“I just feel like we’ve done the festival thing with other festivals for so many years,” he shared. “It’s good to give other people space to do the headline and just step aside and let new people come through. For us, it’s just about building something where we could always feel like we’re on a good stage and be able to put other people on a good stage maybe that wouldn’t have got a look in at these other festivals.”