The Streets

Born in London but raised in Birmingham, Mike Skinner first rose to fame with the release of his 2001 Mercury Music Prize-nominated debut album Original Pirate Material. 2023 project The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light is said by The Streets to be his first official full-length solo outing since 2011’s Computers and Blues. His impact on UK grime, and the idea of working class culture and masculinity, has been lauded the world over.

The oft-repetitive, unspectacular sludge of everyday life is zoomed into with a 4K camera by Mike Skinner, long a legend of UK hip-hop who has traced UK garage, drum & bass, house, bassline, grime and rap to develop a firm reputation for speaking to society’s fringes. Through The Streets’ music, spanning five albums and one mixtape, life’s nuances are assessed and reimagined by cutting commentary from the perspective of an everyman. From hazy nights in the club, waking up in a drunken stupor, picking up Jobseeker’s Allowance, unrequited love and everything in-between, every corner is inspected with finesse. It has resulted in quite the unique lane for Skinner who, despite his last released album being in 2011, has been plotting a move wholly more substantial.

Now, the light is shining, literally and figuratively, on his newest venture, his feature-length film The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light, and album of the same name. An excursion seven years in the making, Skinner finds himself in slightly unfamiliar territory, having directed, produced, written, edited, scored and starred in the film, pushing him to his creative limits as he placed a bet on himself to deliver. With the film entirely on his shoulders, Skinner has carried its vision along with it. A vision that is set from the very start.