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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Original Pirate Material
by The Streets


8.9

based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 151 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

This is the debut album by the London garage (or in this case, bedroom) band, which consists solely of 21-year-old Mike Skinner. Whether or not this style of music (very English rapping over garage/house beats) will translate well overseas remains to be seen, but garage (and especially Skinner) is the current flavor of the month with the UK music press.

LABEL:	Locked On / Vice
RELEASE DATE:	22 October 2002
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Rap, Garage, Electronic

NOTES: UK release 25 March 2002.

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

PopMatters

Original Pirate Material, to put it plainly, is the most vivid evocation of life as a young person in the UK since Blur's Parklife, and yes, even The Clash's first album.

100

Playlouder

2002's first REAL classic.

100

Entertainment Weekly

By adding grit and gutter-savvy humor, Skinner also takes U.K. garage to a new level, making for the year's most striking debut.

100

Uncut

The first record in a long while I've wanted to play again immediately after it's finished. [Album Of The Month, April 2002, p.92]

Village Voice (Consumer Guide)

There's plenty of detail, and feeling too--not just anger, tenderness.

Village Voice

Original Pirate Material is England's first great hip-hop record mostly because it isn't a hip-hop record. It's hard to say exactly what it is.

CultureDose.net

An album whose scope, diversity, wit and heart make it instantly the best album of 2002.

Billboard

Like many great albums, "Original Pirate Material" wasn't meant to be adored in an instant, so don't let your first impressions fool you. This cat's the real deal.

Dot Music

What 'Original Pirate Material' makes abundantly clear though, is that - whilst Skinner may not be at the very cutting edge of Garage's club soundtrack - he's a man blessed with an astonishing aptitude for pop and a mainline into the Zeitgeist.

All Music Guide

Though club-phobic listeners may find it difficult placing Skinner as just the latest dot along a line connecting quintessentially British musicians/humorists/social critics Nöel Coward, the Kinks, Ian Dury, the Jam, the Specials, and Happy Mondays, Original Pirate Material is a rare garage album: that is, one with a shelf life beyond six months.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Heard as a rap album, Original Pirate Material provides a compelling picture of the style wrapping itself around a different milieu. But taken on his own terms, Skinner reaches too deep and true to sound like anything but a remarkable talent in any genre.

Mixer

It's his lyrical earnestness that makes his decidedly British experience so universally appealing. [Nov 2002, p.76]

Trouser Press

[A] blindingly good debut.

E! Online

Throughout the disc, his attention to detail and melody stretch well beyond his 22 years.

Splendid

Though it sounds strange at first, Skinner's delivery is so absorbing that the accent issue will be an afterthought before opener "Turn the Page" has ended.

Blender

The most distinctive producer-rapper Britain has coughed up since Tricky. [#11, p.143]

Rolling Stone

On the evidence of this excellent debut, few people can challenge Skinner right now except himself.

New Musical Express

By turns dark, funny and heartbreaking, the songs on 'Original Pirate Material' are snapshots of ordinary life as a young midlands resident, set to innovative two-step production.

Alternative Press

While Original Pirate Material isn't as good as the U.K. press hyperbole would have us believe, it does prove that sentiment and sincerity are more interesting than slickness and skills. [Dec 2002, p.96]

Mojo

A winningly downbeat brand of urban realism, set to minimal, pounding drums. [Apr 2002, p.115]

Q Magazine

The odd portentous lapse and minor clunker aside, the rate of killer lines is remarkably high. [Mar 2002, p.115]

The Wire

His verbal style is notable because it avoids typical ragga chat or MC freestyling in favour of an almost literary blend of prose and verse. [#219, p.75]

Pitchfork

Skinner has an obvious talent for forging damn sharp hip-pop hooks that supercede his inherent verbal handicap.

Urb

The Streets' novel pairing of dance music and wordplay hits the mark more often than not, and it's a step in a potentially interesting direction. [Nov 2002, p.93]

Neumu.net

In the midst of its 14 tracks, there are a couple that, if taken on their own, would qualify as throwaways. But the way the album should be heard, as a whole, each piece works with the others.

The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 151 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mark G gave it a2:
I'm mystified by people who call this 'music' timeless. I struggle to think of a record more explicitly grounded in time and place for its resonance. Hopefully when people have stopped injecting themselves with heroin, finding lyrics about chips and lager 'meaningful' and generally just labeling anything as 'genius' as long as it comes from a working class background, maybe we can all evolve...

Jay C gave it a9:
Got this album when it came out and have just dusted it off again. I've spent most of my life listening to rock and metal, tho spent my earlier years listenng to rap, hip hop, r 'n' b etc. As a musical purist (in the way that I prefer music to be played live with real instruments) I slated any unimaginative, mindless rap over repetitive "beats" but the streets' first two albums have a special place in my heart. Yes I am English. That has nothing to do with it. Mike delivers original tunes with funny, down-to-earth lyrics without the pretentious b*tches, hoes, and bling-mobiles that we all so much hate about the current black music scene. Both first two albums always did have and always wil have a special place in my heart

Robert C gave it a10:
Turn the Page is wicked

Adz H gave it a10:
Original pirate material is the best album of all time, bar none! whether its my background as an English lad now in my late teens i dont know, but what i do kno is that this album will never die. 4 years after its release and its still so fresh and still personally my favourite work Mike Skinner has produced. Every lyric has meaning, every beat matches the vibe of that particular track and this makes every track a masterpiece. You wont find any stupid skits in this album and this means you can play it from biggining to end loving every single minute! .....since its release when i was in high skool it has become the soundtrack to my life, following me everywhere and spookilly commentating on my experiences. Anyone who dislikes this album i got sum advice for you: get high and sit around with you mates...........listen to the lyrics.........jus sit back and chill.......listen to the beats.........youll soon feel every pressure in your life lift off your shoulders and Mike Skinner's deep philosophy will fix you. This album is more than a 10/10, because it cannot equal any other album ever made. perfect. We should all feel lucky we are living in the era that this was released... which this masterpiece places in context for all of us. im gonna listen to this album til i die

Matt M gave it a10:
I think everyone on the forum can agree that Steven C, that guy who gave this record a 1 is a complete mindless twat. We all know what kind of person Steven is: "Just give me a good beat to dance to while I try my hardest to look tough in the club, never mind the lyrics." You are out of your mind Bro. This record is the most enthralling & interesting record that has come out in the 21st century so far. Forget about Eminem! Forget about 50 "Fucking" Cent! You are locked on to the Streets.

Chris C gave it a10:
This album is genius lyrically. The use of all the British slang is mindblowing and whoever cannot appreciate something different like this can rot in hell because they are closed minded.

Phil S gave it a9:
As a poet, there is no better than this working class hero. I was tempted to give this album 10, but decided not to bcause i am mean. It is really really good quality...... i mean, he is what Doherty could be

Original Pirate Material by The Streets

Original Pirate Material
by The Streets