Released 4^th February 2011 by Brownswood Recordings

Chart Performance: The album peaked at number 119 but enjoyed a steady boost in sales following Ghostpoet’s Mercury Music Prize nomination.

What The Critics Said: “it’s a hypnotic and ultimately rewarding debut which, along with recent efforts from James Blake and Jamie Woon, proves that the words chill-out and challenging don’t have to be mutually exclusive.” Allmusic

Ghostpoet is a self-producing experimental hip-hop artist from London. His debut album that was released this February was Mercury nominated, losing out to PJ Harvey, but he was rightly recognised for his work.

The album brings a completely fresh look to the hip-hop scene, being compared in terms of impact to Original Pirate Material by The Streets. It brings a sense of melancholy, obviously inspiring the title Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam; coming from Coventry and moving to London, he speaks of his experiences of his hometown and keeping positive. That’s another thing that sets Ghostpoet apart from a lot of hip-hop today, lyrically he offers something that people can relate to far more. In this way, it’s easy to compare him to the likes of Roots Manuva as well as The Streets. The idea of having ‘no cash… no cheque… no credit card’ is refreshingly a million miles away from the mental image I get of 50 Cent’s swimming pool filled with endless streams of money and women.

Musically, the album is as humble as it’s lyrics; not boastful at all, but offering simplistic beats that accompany the words perfectly, making for an album that reflects the life of most of its listeners. The album is a seamless echo of a 21^st Century struggle that many people are currently enduring, and offers a refreshing contrast to conventional hip-hop that feels like a completely different world. Kyle Prangnell