Evoking the general DIY vibe of the grime scene as a whole, Skepta adoptss a decidely low-fi aesthetic for his new video “No Stress.” Featuring Essie Gang rappers L3 and Michael Phanthom, the whole video looks like it was shot on a VHS camcorder with various color filters over the lens (or the settings fiddled with to produce the deep red, blue, and green hues that sometimes popped up on the technology back in the day).
From a lyrical standpoint, the three rappers tread familiar tough-guy territory, threatening foes with various forms of extermination. As Skepta boasts on the chorus, “We gon’ catch you slipping, get the drop like oh, yes / Pull up, blow this smoke until there ain’t no smoke left.”
“No Stress” arrives during a relatively slow year for the UK grime star. While contemporaries like Stormzy, have dropped new solo projects in the past 12 months, Skepta was content to constitute one third of the Insomnia joint project with Chip and Young Adz. He did, however, make an appearance with frequent collaborators Gorillaz on their Song Machine single “How Far” with late drummer Tony Allen. With his headlining act at Wireless Festival 2020 getting 86ed along with the rest of live entertainment as a whole, it seems he’s been taking time to enjoy being a father and plot out his follow-up to 2019’s Ignorance Is Bliss while he produces Octavian’s debut.
Watch Skepta’s “No Stress” video above.