British rapper Skepta inaugurated 2024 by announcing his first new full-length album in nearly five years with posts on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter). The still-undated album, Knife and Fork, will be preceded by single “Gas Me Up (Diligent),” due Jan. 26.
“It’s been years since I dropped my last album and I want to thank you for all the love during my hiatus,” Skepta posted. “I’ve seen the messages, tweets and TikToks, I’m truly grateful that my music is still resonating with the world even in my absence.
“I’m happy to announce my next studio album #KnifeAndFork is loading, the first single #GasMeUp (Diligent) will be out January 26th. Can’t wait to see you all @ Big Smoke Festival - Happy 2024.”
Big Smoke is the one-day festival that the rapper will be inaugurating on June 6, at Crystal Palace Stadium in London. Headlined by Skepta with a yet-unrevealed additional lineup, the rapper announced the festival date last November. He said: “I’m gassed to finally announce that Big Smoke Festival is official. I’m so excited, it’s been a wild one to do this. I just want to say thank you to all the supporters, it’s been a couple years that you didn’t see me on a stage. I know a lot of people have been wondering when they’ll see Skepta at a festival, and I really wanted to save all that energy and put it into something that was for us, by us.”
Skepta attends the Met Gala in 2023.
Skepta’s last album, 2019’s Ignorance Is Bliss, reached No. 2 on the UK album chart, buoyed by singles “Greaze Mode” and “Bullet From a Gun.” A fixture in the grime world thanks to mixtapes even before releasing his 2007 debut album, Greatest Hits, Skepta broke through to more mainstream audiences with his third album, 2011’s Doin’ It Again. Follow-up Konnichiwa was his highest-charting album, and earned Skepta the Mercury Prize, as well as a booking at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the U.S. He made his first and (to date) only appearance on the U.S. singles chart with his ASAP Rocky collaboration, “Praise the Lord (Da Shine),” in 2018.
