One Hardest Way track even takes a cue from an American rap legend in a more direct sense: it wasn’t meant for the album at all but rather for the posthumous Notorious B.I.G. collection Duets. “I spent an evening with P. Diddy and they asked me to write something. I was over in New York, and because I’m the biggest guy in England or Europe or whatever, I guess they just thought that it would be a good fit.”

Although Skinner doesn’t go into detail as to why the finished product wasn’t included on Duets, it’s not hard to figure, especially once you’ve heard the track. Set against sputtering drums and a melancholy guitar loop, “Two Nations” gently ribs us about the differences between US and UK rap, explaining that “the differences in language are just the bits [America] got wrong.” He hits a rawer nerve when he argues that the English “build up our stars and then papers swoop on ’em/And you build up stars and then maniacs shoot ’em.” And then? “I’m proud we gave you people like John Lennon/Even though you shot him as well.”

It’s all very tongue-in-cheek — Skinner even suggests as much during the song. Still, you can see why Bad Boy declined to put it on what was supposed to be the final release from a slain rap idol. What’s harder to understand is why Skinner chose to include “Two Nations” on The Hardest Way. Tacked next-to-last on an album full of sex, drugs, and other tabloid fodder, it seems completely out of place. But when you revisit “Memento Mori,” the picture becomes a bit clearer. What seems to be a track about his out-of-control spending habits has a hook that hints at a bigger issue: “Memento mori, memento mori/It’s Latin and it says we must all die.” And the hymnlike “Never Went to Church” addresses the death of Mike’s father, and how Skinner sees reflections of his old man in himself.

So, what about this drift toward the melancholic?

“I try to do things differently every time, and I guess this is just something that I haven’t . . . ” He stops abruptly. “I’m trying to do things that I haven’t covered before.”

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Mike Skinner recorded a series of videos discussing each track from The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living. These videos will be available starting this week on Music For Robots and Lemon-Red.

On the Web
The Streets: //www.the-streets.co.uk
Vice Recordings: //www.vice-recordings.com/