And while Skepta’s been focused on the message, he has also been deliberate about how he’s delivering it.
“It took six years to make this because it’s important to make sure we’re not tone deaf,” he says.
He learned the value of that when, in 2024, he had to take down artwork for his single Gas Me Up (Diligent), following allegations that it referenced the Holocaust.
The image showed a group of men with shaved heads, one featuring a tattoo reading “Gas Me Up”.
It had been a reference to skinhead culture, but Skepta acknowledged how without that context people could find it offensive and promised to be more mindful going forward.
Determined not to miss the mark this time around, he says: “I feel like we’ve delivered a classic.”
Early reviews are mixed as to whether critics agree, however. While Complex said The Fork and Knife was “top-tier” and worth the wait, external, The Observer said it was well-intentioned but questioned whether it was “over-egged”, external.
At a time when he thinks standards have been slipping though, striving for a classic is more important than ever.
“I don’t think there’s been a good grime album for a long time,” Skepta says.
“And I’m here to set levels.”
In September, Digga D called out the viral ‘UK Poo’ trend, which saw a wave of tracks blowing up on TikTok defined by what he described as “foolishness”.
“I can’t sit on here and be like ‘I’m happy with how the UK scene is right now’,” the rapper told 1Xtra’s DJ Target. “Because I’m not.”
Turns out Skepta isn’t happy either.
Drawing on his idols, and even featuring some of them like Suggs, he says he is “here to make rap sophisticated again”.
As BBC Radio 1Xtra launches the first UK rap chart show, he’s hopeful more grime artists will be inspired to sharpen their pen game.
“Rap is a sport and it’s very hard for visibility when we’re being compared to people who have major machines behind them,” he says.
“So this rap chart is going to give all the newcomers and a lot of people who are producing in their bedroom a chance to be seen and heard.”
