The Inside Pulse:
The Streets are an enigma, really. Mike Skinner is a white rapper that raps about completely everyday things. He’s probably the most honest artist you’ll ever come across. He has songs about having a gambling problem, losing money behind a broken television, and, of course, the pitfalls of dating famous people. The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living takes a stylistic step away to looser soil. Some of the raps don’t even rhyme anymore, and sometimes this is annoying.
Positives:
This is a fun record, on the whole. The beats are fast and the rhyme is organic. There’s no over production here at all. Skinner is an okay MC at best, but his honesty gives him a strange credibility that’s pretty cool. Also, “Never Went To Church” is pretty killer.
Negatives:
The best song on the record is the single, which sets off the alarm bells here. As interesting as the record is, it’s difficult to listen to any track more than once, as each of them seems a little lazy. I mean, there’s only so many times you can listen to Mike rap about the inane differences between American and England (especially if you’re Canadian).
Cross-breed:
Tricky, Eminem, and Buck 65
Reason To Buy:
You don’t have A Grand Don’t Come For Free, because there’s a better version of every song presented here on that one. The whole thing is neither shocking or inspiring. It’s the first time where Skinner’s rap about boring things has come off as just that.
