The Streets

The Streets is the project of English rapper, singer and producer Mike Skinner, formed in Birmingham in the late 1990s. Blending UK garage rhythms with a hip-hop sensibility, Skinner built a distinctively British sound around conversational, working-class storytelling delivered in his own regional accent rather than an Americanized rap style.

His 2002 debut album, «Original Pirate Material», is widely regarded as a landmark in British hip-hop and UK garage, praised for tracks like «Has It Come to This?» and «Let's Push Things Forward» that captured everyday life in early-2000s England with wit and detail. The follow-up, «A Grand Don't Come for Free», was structured as a narrative concept album and produced the hit «Dry Your Eyes», while later singles such as «Fit but You Know It» and «Blinded by the Lights» showed Skinner's range across humor, anxiety and introspection.

Across five studio albums released between 2002 and 2011, The Streets helped pioneer a distinctly British strand of hip-hop, influencing a generation of UK artists who followed with their own regional voices. Skinner disbanded the project in 2011 before reviving it periodically for new music and performances in later years.