The Streets' first two albums had so much hype and critical acclaim, there was really nowhere left to go. I remember reading British magazines a few years ago after A Grand Don't Come For Free (his outstanding second album): they said things like "the Streets relate to the youth of England in a way nobody has since Joe Strummer and Morrissey". Really, he's already in that class? The next few albums are going to be tough. Unfortunately, British rap is completely incapable of ever being mainstream in America, so your going to have to keep catering to the ever critical cult/hipster crowds here.
His fourth album, Everything Is Borrowed, is shocking from the first second of the opening title track. Is he using live instruments now? Didn't he create Original Pirate Material on his laptop? And them there's the lyrics: "I came to this world with nothing/I leave with nothing but love/everything else is borrowed". Gone are teenage themes of drugs and crushes, now he sings about war and death.
The lyrics are overbearing after a while, but the instrumentation remains pretty exiting through the whole album. He expands his sound to include R&B and jazz, particularly on the surprisingly uplifting "On The Edge Of A Cliff".
I think everybody would love this album if it weren't by the Streets, which is unfortunate. Give this guy a chance to grow up. He still has some good music left in him.
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