Issue 3: New Album Review - On Purpose, With Purpose by Ghetts
A review of UK rapper Ghetts' latest project.
Background information:
Ghetts (also known as Justin Jude Clarke-Samuels) is a British MC and songwriter (Wikipedia, 2024). On Purpose, With Purpose is Ghetts’ fourth studio album following Rebel with a Cause (released 2014), Ghetto Gospel: A New Testament (released 2018) and Conflict of Interest (released 2021). Ghetts has also produced a number of mixtapes and EPs in his career spanning nearly 20 years long.
Although Ghetts is not one of the biggest names in the UK rap industry, he has still experienced much success in his career. He has had 3 of his singles reaching the UK Official Charts with Skengman (feat. Stormzy) being his most successful single peaking at 50, whilst his most successful feature peaked at 22 with Stormzy’s Bad Boys where Ghetts was featured alongside J Hus. Ghetts’ albums have tended to experience greater success in the charts with his 2021 album Conflict of Interest being his most successful by far, with it peaking at 2. Rebel with a Cause and Ghetto Gospel: A New Testament have also earned places within the top 30 (Official Charts a, 2024).
After being released on the 23rd February, On Purpose, With Purpose has had some chart success with it peaking at 29 on the UK Official Charts (Official Charts b, 2024). On Spotify, the album hasn’t experienced that much success though with only just under 4.5 million streams in total (as of 10th March 2024).
Tracklist Ratings:
Intro - a strong track to begin the album. The main theme around the track is Ghetts realising his youth is over and the differences he is experiencing in his everyday life. It feels like Ghetts is just speaking to you, which is something that I find intriguing and refreshing as a lot of music recently has been hard to understand - American hip-hop comes to mind here. However, due to this story-telling nature, it doesn’t quite have the same catchiness as a regular song would and although I do appreciate it as a track, it isn’t something I would have in my rotation which is why I’m not putting it in a higher tier. 60
Mount Rushmore (feat. Kano & Wretch 32) - the track begins with a powerful Martin Luther King speech and then flows into Ghetts’ verse. I particularly enjoy Ghetts’ flow which increases in energy towards to back-end of the verse and is picked up by Kano in a flawless transition. Kano has an excellent performance as well which largely comes from the brilliant lyrics and flow changes which make it intriguing to listen to. Wretch 32 brings a whole different flow and energy to the song, which I find refreshing and finishes off a decent track. 66
Double Standards (feat. Sampha) - one of the strongest songs off the album. Sampha delivers another brilliant performance, with his incredible vocals being used as the hook for the track. The theme of the song is very interesting as well with Ghetts questioning a lot of contradictions that have become normalised by society and speaking out about them. The way this message is intertwined into the rich-sounding song is frankly genius, with it offering both a beautiful listening experience alongside a strong message. 79
Anakin (Red Saber) - the beat is especially interesting on this track with it sounding Sci-Fi-esque, which I imagine is the reasoning behind the Star Wars-themed title. Ghetts has a completely different flow on this track which I actually quite enjoy as it offers a different feel from the previous tracks. However, I feel like this track lacks a lot of substance relative to the other songs which makes it harder for me to connect to it. 57
Blood On My Hands (feat. Unknown T) - a more grime-influenced track which is an aspect I appreciate. The mysterious-sounding beat is enjoyable and strong throughout the whole track. Although Ghetts has a good performance, Unknown T’s performance seems to stand out to me more. This is likely to just be because I have listened to more of Unknown T than Ghetts. Unknown T delivers his iconic flow which complements the beat well. Ghetts still has a strong performance though, with him performing particularly well with his 2nd verse. 72
Stylish Nxxxa (feat. Lancey Fox) - personally not a big fan of this track. I’m not particularly keen on Lancey Fox’s feature as it almost sounds like he’s trying to rip off Playboi Carti with his choppy flow and use of ad-libs. Although, I do like the chemistry there seems to be between Ghetts and Lancey Fox with them nearly trading bar for bar at some points in the song. Ghetts also has a solid performance on the track. However, the track lacks a lot of substance and I don’t enjoy the choppy nature of it. As a result, I don’t see myself revisiting this track much in the future. 51
Laps (feat. Moonchild Sanelly) - not a huge fan of this track either. Ghetts is really good on this track, with some decent bars and interesting flows. But, Moonchild Sanelly’s hook is very poor and ruins the track in my view. The hook sounds droney and lacks a lot of energy which just makes me want to switch off when I listen to it. 47
Twin Sisters (feat. Skrapz) - a track with quite a strange theme. It starts with quite a long intro saying a language that sounds a bit like Spanish, although I am not sure. It does sound intriguing though and does set a positive tone for the track. I enjoy Ghetts’ verse with him exploring some interesting topics whilst also sounding good. I also enjoy Skrapz’s feature with him sounding sort of like Giggs by delivering a slow, low-toned flow. A critique I have though is that it is quite a slow song and although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing in rap - I don’t find it that engaging which is why I haven’t put the song in a higher tier. 62
Mine (feat. Shakka) - a short but sweet song. Shakka’s hook is the most memorable part of the song for me which largely comes down to the catchiness and the lovely vocals. Ghetts performs excellently on the track as well by complementing the hook with strong verses. I especially enjoy Ghetts’ flow on the track which works very well with the beat. 70
More Than I Required (feat. Jay Angelo) [Interlude] - this interlude seems to have a lot of soul influences. This makes sense with the changing sound of the album to the more religious and afrobeat tones with the upcoming songs. There are few lyrics and the interlude largely draws on repetitive noises, which I feel work well.
Hallelujah (feat. Dexta Daps) - this track draws on from the interlude with the religious and afrobeat sound. The beat is very enjoyable with its noticeable afrobeat influences and works well with Dexta Daps’ chorus. Dexta Daps, like many features used for the hooks on the albums, delivers strong vocals which draw me into the song. Ghetts also delivers a strong performance, with his verses complementing the beat and chorus very well. 71
Gbedu (feat. Harry Aye) - another strong afrobeat-sounding song. The beat is excellent again on this track and I particularly like that it is noticeably different from the previous track. Another aspect of the song I enjoy is that it is more of a love song, which is very different from the other themes explored on the album. However, I do feel like it still works very well. Harry Aye delivers a very good hook which works alongside Ghetts’ verses which are both very strong. 75
Tumbi - the first track for a while without a feature, but I think Ghetts performs very strongly. This track certainly showcases Ghetts' talent with him performing a completely different flow from the earlier tracks on the album. Ghetts even showcases some strong vocal performances as well, especially during the hook. 73
Blessings (feat. Muzi) - like Tumbi, in Blessings - Ghetts showcases his very impressive vocals. However, in this case his vocals are used for the vast majority of his part of the song. This is something I really enjoy as I can see he is experimenting and wanting to create unique tracks on the album, something that I admire. The theme of the track links back to the religious themes that were explored in tracks such as Hallelujah. Muzi’s feature is also very strong, although Ghetts easily outperforms Muzi on the track. I do enjoy how Muzi brings a different energy to the track which draws me into the song even more. 74
Grateful (Interlude) - this interlude is pretty much the exact opposite to the previous one. Whilst the other one tends to be more rhythmic than lyrical, this one is the opposite with Ghetts simply talking. For this interlude, Ghetts simply tells the listeners that he is grateful for his success - hence the name of the track. I also really appreciate some of the thought-provoking things Ghetts says - especially when he puts out the question of ‘where would you spend time if you weren’t chasing money’.
Street Politics (feat. Tiggs Da Author) - a track which discusses the difficulties of Ghetts’ upbringing by vividly describing the troubles he experienced in his neighbourhood. He uses the first verse to describe the issues and hardships experienced in his neighbourhood. Ghetts’ second verse is more descriptive with him describing how to attempted to overcome these issues but ended up murdering someone out of fear, with the track ending with the victim’s mum crying. Ghetts shows his true talent in this track by being able to describe these issues so vividly that you can picture it happening, which is something I really enjoy about the track. Tiggs Da Author performs very well with his soft vocals being used as the hook, which sounds chilling after hearing the atrocities described by Ghetts. 73
Jonah’s Safety (feat. Pip Millett) - my favourite track on the album. Pip Millet’s performance is outstanding on the track. Her vocals are beautiful and work perfectly with the theme of the song with the passion she brings. Her part towards the end of the track never fails to bring me goosebumps. The theme of the song is that it discusses a mother’s hardships with having to mother a baby that came about from rape. Like the previous track, Ghetts describes this extremely well so it is very straightforward to picture what’s happening. I also enjoy his flow which changes throughout his verse and makes it intriguing to listen to. 87
Expiry Date (Outro) - this track seems to mirror the introductory track which is something I enjoy. Again, Ghetts is simply rapping on a fairly simple beat and discusses various topics like family and religion. However, there are also differences with the ending of the track being more rhythmic than Intro, which I enjoy. However, like Intro it does lack replayability, which is why I’m not rating it higher. 61
Personal reflections:
On Purpose, With Purpose was a very enjoyable listen. It somewhat feels like a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of music coming out at the moment. This is partially down to Ghetts’ rapping style where he raps very clearly, making it easy to understand what he is saying. This very much contradicts recent trends in the hiphop industry, especially in the USA where artists like Lil Baby and Playboi Carti have experienced huge success by releasing tracks that are hard to understand lyrically but do well because they simply sound good. Ghetts manages to couple making strong-sounding songs whilst also having understandable, thought-provoking lyrics, which is what he does on a large number of tracks on the album. Tracks such as Double Standards, Street Politics and Jonah’s Safety come to mind here which offer some of the most thought-provoking lyrics on the album whilst simultaneously being some of the best sounding as well.
Prior to listening to the album, I had not heard much of Ghetts’ discography but after listening to this project, he is certainly someone I will start listening to. I had only really heard of him through features with artists like Stormzy and Yungen so listening to a Ghetts project was certainly a good way to analyse how he is as an artist. The only real reason why I chose to review the album in the first place was from listening to Double Standards when it was released as an album teaser a few weeks before the album was released. I really enjoyed the track and how Ghetts managed to have a track offering thought-provoking lyrics which complemented Sampha’s powerful voice so well, which drew me to listen to the album.
The structure of the album is very intriguing to me. From the track Intro up until the first interlude - More Than I Required, there seems to be a heavy grime influence with the sound of the beat, Ghetts’ flow and the themes discussed. However, after this interlude, the soundscape of the album changes to a more upbeat afrobeat sound with Ghetts changing up his flow to a more vocal performance. The second interlude - Grateful, acts as another turning point for the sound of the album with the grime influence coming through with Street Politics. However, the 3 tracks after Grateful seem to all have a softer sound compared to some of the beats at the start of the album which is likely to be because of the topics discussed whereby a heavily produced beat is not necessary. Overall, I think that the changing sound of the album is a real strong point and helps me stay engaged with the album up until the last track - which is a sign of a strong album for me.
The tracklist for the album is very solid. There are some weak points with Stylish Nxxxa and Laps, which lack substance and appeal relative to the other tracks. However, the strong points far outweigh the weak points with the second half of the album sounding a lot better than the first half in my view. The afrobeat-sounding tracks are likely to be a large reason for this and also Jonah’s Safety which is the best track on the album in my view. Although Double Standards could also be argued as being one of the strongest, Jonah’s Safety has the edge largely due to Pip Millet’s excellent performance. Generally speaking, the features on the album were very strong as well. Moonchild Sanelly and Lancey Foux were the only 2 features that I found ruined the tracks they were on. I enjoyed how Ghetts used the features differently in tracks with features like Shakka, Harry Aye and Sampha being used for hooks while others such as Unknown T and Skrapz were used for verses to change the energy of the track.
Overall, On Purpose, With Purpose is a very strong album. If you are someone looking to try and get into UK hiphop and looking for someone outside of the mainstream, this is the perfect album to listen to. This album excellently couples the afrobeat influences which have experienced success in UK rap (especially thinking of the success of J Hus’ single Who Told You featuring Drake and Stormzy’s recent projects) with more grime sounds which are distinctive of the genre.
Album Ratings
Songs: 67 - I feel like this rating gives a fair reflection of the songs of the album.
Overall Vibe: 76 - there is no doubt that the vibe of the album is very good. I am particularly a fan of the afrobeat songs but I also enjoy the more sombre songs like Jonah’s Safety as well. There are some tracks which I feel ruin the vibe of the album for me like Laps and Stylish Nxxxa which is why I cannot put the vibe into the perfect tier, but I feel very good is the right category to put the album in.
Creativity: 65 - the album isn’t genre-defining nor is it something completely new to the genre. The use of different soundscapes is something that has been used for albums for a while now, so what Ghetts does is nothing new. However, I do feel like the album is still different from a lot of projects at the current time simply because of the themes discussed. It is very rare to see a mainstream UK rapper talking about topics such as mothers dealing with a child that is a product of rape. However, other themes explored in the album such as family, religion, being grateful for success and struggles with upbringing are all very popular topics of discussion in the industry. Since I haven’t listened to other Ghetts projects, giving creativity a score was slightly more challenging. However, good seems to be the right tier to put the album in.
Cohesiveness: 67 - although there are different sounds used for different tracks on the album. I do feel like there is still a general cohesive sound which is achieved. A large part of this is because of Ghetts’ rapping style which is used in most of the tracks, bar a few ones where he adopts a more vocal style. Therefore, it is very easy to recognise that they are Ghetts songs. The tracklist mostly flows well, which is why good is the right category to put cohesiveness in.
Replayability: 68 - On Purpose, With Purpose is not an album that I could see myself replaying as often as others, although I would still want to listen to it fairly regularly. There are also many songs on the album that I can see being in my regular rotation as well.
Overall Score: 69 - GOOD
Want to share your thoughts on On Purpose, With Purpose? Got an album you want me to review? Don’t hesitate to contact me at thetunesreview@gmail.com
Explanation of ratings
For those who haven’t read a Tune Reviews newsletter before, in a typical song or album review I will provide a numerical score between 0 and 100 with each interval meaning something different. This is observed below:
85-100 - Perfect Song/Album
70-84 - Very Good Song/Album
55-69 - Good Song/Album
40 - 54 - Mid Song/Album (something that I don’t like nor dislike)
25-39 - Bad Song/Album
25 and less - Very Poor Song/Album
With albums, I will provide an additional rating scheme where I will analyse various parts making up the album. These factors include; songs (where I will simply find the average of the song ratings I have scored), overall sound (what I think of the overall sound and vibe of the album), creativity (how creative and different the album is from other projects from the artist and other projects at the time the album was released), cohesiveness (how well the project flows and the songs go together) and replayability (how likely I will revisit this album in the future). All of the above factors will also be considered when coming up with a score for the songs as well.
References:
Official Charts a, 2024. Ghetts [Online]. Available at: https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/22010/ghetts/
Official Charts b, 2024. ON PURPOSE, WITH PURPOSE [Online]. Available at: https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/ghetts-on-purpose-with-purpose/
Wikipedia, 2024. Ghetts [Online]. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghetts