‘Their most personal album’ is a phrase that gets mentioned in more album reviews than you can count. It’s an often lazy attempt to make an artist’s album sound slightly more interesting, or that the usual music they make has suddenly become acoustic ballads. Those usual connotations aside, Self Titled by Kae Tempest might be one of the most ‘personal’ records I have ever heard in my life. We know Kae as a poet, rapper and songwriter who has made some of the defining albums of recent British history, speaking on the state of the world; stories of the people in it and sharing insights on behalf of others. He’s now looking inward across his most pointed, infectious and emotionally devastating album yet.
Nowhere more than than on ‘Know Yourself’ where Kae raps alongside a vocal sample from his younger self. ‘This is peace to the kid I came after/The words of the bridge between the present and the past I know myself at last’ about sums it up and if previous album The Line Is a Curve felt like a transformative album sonically from Kae Tempest then Self Titled defines a transformative identity as well. At a time when trans people are debated on the biggest platforms, their rights and bodies refused recognition, hearing these lyrics that convey so much honesty, resilience and celebration feels so necessary. This isn’t an album about pain or suffering, it’s one about truth and the joy of truly knowing yourself.
So much of this album feels like a call to arms, opener ‘I Stand On The Line’ is instantly such a powerful statement of intent, ‘How many strangers will I upset with my existence today?’. And lead single ‘Statue In The Square’ might be my personal favourite Kae Tempest track to date. There’s a boldness and an immediacy to so much of this music in a way I don’t think I’ve heard from him before.
Hooks are hookier than ever, and collaborating with producer Fraser T Smith gives everything the same British Hip-Hop directness we’ve heard from his beats for decades. ‘Prayers to Whisper’ is the most Fraser T Smith moment here, the choir and joyful production wouldn’t feel out of place on a Stormzy album. I love the instrumentation but I wonder if some fans may find it a step too far. If the lyricism and performance weren’t so powerful I might wonder if this pivot to a slightly more commercial sound could be a turn-off for some day one fans, but for me everything about this record is a joy to hear.
Neil Tennant’s appearance on ‘Sunshine on Catford’ gives poignancy and gravitas from one of the country’s other defining queer voices and that collaborative approach that worked so well on The Line Is a Curve returns here too. ‘Diagnoses’ dives into his ADHD and reflection on the labels that stretch across people’s own minds. I love the jazz influence on closer ‘Till Monday’, while ‘I’m just trying to be someone the child I used to be can believe in’ on Everything All Together is another overwhelming moment on an album full of them.
But one moment stands ahead of them all and as a six-minute stream of consciousness ‘Breathe’ will surely be a defining record in Kae Tempest’s career. It’s such a devastating listen, so emotional and yet so cathartic. It feels like these are words that Kae has needed to get out, years of focusing on others, speaking up for others while these emotions rattle around inside. On any album it would feel like a peak moment, but on Self Titled it isn’t a surprise, more an inevitability. I get the sense this was the album that Kae Tempest needed to make.
This is the sort of hip-hop album I love, introspective and yet instantly accessible through infectious beats, catchy hooks and bold musicality. I’ve said it multiple times already but Self Titled had me overwhelmed from start to end. An album of self acceptance and a celebration of who you are from one of the defining artists of the last decade. And maybe even the best album of Kae Tempest’s career. We needed this music, but I think Kae needed it more.
Kae Tempest is touring the UK this November including Manchester Albert Hall on 10th November.
Words by Sam Atkins
Picky Bastards 
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