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Slime & Reason, then, is yet another gutsy work from a deeply honest artist.
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His clever quips, wonky wordplay, raunchy voice and oddball timing combine into something beyond reproduction by anybody, not that any other MC is daring enough to try doing this type of grimy, soulful crunk-hop
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This being Roots Manuva there's a lyrical gem in pretty much each song - and this being Roots Manuva, a lot of them are intensely personal observations.
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The album is an excellent listen from start to finish, and a generally successful snapshot of London in 2008.
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The lilting gospel chorus of 'Let the Spirit' and the doomy 'It's Me Oh Lord' find Manuva stewing in a cauldron of guilt and self-recrimination, the potent authority in his voice lending them gravity and beauty in equal measure.
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Don’t worry if Smith’s quirk is your main draw, though, because Slime & Reason only furthers his evolution into becoming a mad scientist of digital dub production (with excellent contributions from Toddla T and Metronomy) and vocal menace.
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UncutSmith sounds urgent, fresh and revitalised. [Sep 2008, p.100]
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Slightly less coherent than his previous stunner, "Awfully Deep," Slime & Reason has tracks intended to fill dance floors and cuts that are more layered, their intricate beats and rhymes better suited to headphone enjoyment.
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While Manuva's unorthodox style is a unique pleasure, too often his flow can be laconic to the point of being subliminal--a good portion of Slime & Reason's midsection demands attention, but doesn't necessarily deserve it, not when the beats that support his rhymes are just-below-scale like the budget g-funk of "Kick Up Ya Foot".
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While an ambitious selection of productions have reinvigorated his approach, as the album rolls on, the same solo call-and-response hooks, and methodical, self-effacing verses show that, vocally, he’s content sticking to familiar, functional turf.
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Flexing a bit of the angry lyrical edge he boasted on 2005's "Awfully Deep," Roots digs into "fickle DJs," no-talent rappers, Trustafarians and "bourgeois hippies" who "wanna fight my flow," as he proclaims on the track '2 Much 2 Soon.'
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Alternative PressSlime gives good reason to say Roots is winning. [Dec 2008, p.152]
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Q MagazineHIs fourth album is a step up from the patchy "Awfully Deep." [Oct 2008, p.150]
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Manuva’s incessant background singing is regressive in a musical way, not nostalgic as the rest of the album intends to be. Perhaps inseparable from his production and writing process, its addition can detract from his most stirring quality: effortlessly smooth delivery.
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He cuts through Slime & reason's rudeboy grime with poker-faced nerve. [Nov 2008, p.100]
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MojoSlime & Reason practically revels in its juicy sense of freedom. [Sep 2008, p.112]