Skepta Reloading His Songs Sparks Conversation on Twitter

Sometimes, despite anyone's best intentions, critiquing just goes wrong, and the very moment a writer makes a mistake, the Internet piranhas smell fresh blood and begin to circle. That's pretty much what happened when one critic reviewed a recent Skepta show.

In his review for London's Evening Standard, journalist John Aizlewood wrote that he was confused by the Mercury Prize committee for choosing Skepta's album Konnichiwa over the late David Bowie's Blackstar before going on to critique Skepta's show for a "lack of progression." Those are undoubtedly harsh words for Skepta fans to hear, but it wasn't the part that boiled the blood of grime enthusiasts.

The source of the anger is apparently Aizlewood's misunderstanding of a custom that's a staple of grime culture. In his review, Aizlewood notes that Skepta would constantly "re-start" his songs during the concert. The term for the practice is actually called "reloading," and it's a big part of grime culture. As soon as the review surfaced on the web, Twitter let Aizlewood have it.

Grime has a rich tradition in London, so it's no surprise to see DJs, rappers and fans from the area give the Evening Standard such a hard time. After all, the genre did originate in East London.

One poor review aside, Skepta has had a terrific 2016 by virtually any measure. His latest album, Konnichiwa, earned acclaim from critics far and wide, helped solidify his international fan base and eventually won him the highly coveted Mercury Prize a few months ago.

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