On Purpose, With Purpose by Ghetts
On Purpose, with Purpose is the fourth studio album by British rapper Ghetts, released on 23 February 2024 through Ghetts Limited and Warner Records. It features guest appearances from Kano, Wretch 32, Sampha, Unknown T, Lancey Foux, Moonchild Sanelly, Skrapz, Shakka, Jay Angelo, Dexta Daps, Harry Aye, Muzi, Tiggs da Author and Pip Millett. Background A release statement revealed that the album sees "new heights as a songwriter" for the rapper and expands his "sonic palette", including soul, R&B, Afrobeat, amapiano and gospel. The lead single "Laps" featuring Moonchild Sanelly, whom he had collaborated before on "Mozambique" (2020), was released accompanying the album announcement on 20 October 2023. Ghetts unveiled the album artwork designed by British-Nigerian artist Olaolu Slawn through a teaser on his social media. Kicking off the era in early 2024, Ghetts announced a few UK tour dates slated for March 2024. While the album was initially announced for release on 5 January 2024, it was later postponed to 2 February.
“To anyone who feels like they’re being overlooked, don’t have conversations with people about ‘It should be you’. No, it shouldn’t,” Ghetts tells Apple Music’s Dotty. “Don’t download the virus. Saying to me, ‘It should be you’ is a virus because if you take that upon yourself, you’re going to put out this energy of [being] underrated—now you become that. Your time comes when it’s meant to. Everyone has a time, and the truth is this: We’re only individuals, so the culture will <i>always</i> remain bigger than us.” After two decades of grime-scene grind, 2021’s lauded <i>Conflict of Interest</i> proved a landmark moment for the prolific MC, once labelled “Ghetto” as a product of his inner-city environment. The album’s subtle arrangement met with sharp, analytical insights that surfaced a greater sense of self. <i>On Purpose, With Purpose</i>, Ghetts pushes further across the ground he explored on his major label debut, reflecting the climb from impoverished youth to esteemed elder statesman in detail. “I wanted to keep the story going,” he explains. “Creating an album is simply adding another chapter to my book, and I wouldn’t want you reading the same [part] twice.” It was while touring <i>Conflict of Interest</i> that Ghetts put the foundation in place for album four. He gutted out a derelict complex and built separate recording rooms, each housing different producers, with Ghetts moving from one to another in a door-to-door writing-camp experience. This all-encompassing approach is felt throughout. On the Sampha-assisted “Double Standards”, he takes aim at the contradictions of global conflict—and the taxman. For synth-knocker “Laps”, Ghetts pairs again with South Africa’s Moonchild Sanelly, renewing the electric chemistry of <i>Conflict of Interest</i> standout “Mozambique”. The album’s eye-catching MC additions also deliver fireworks at steady intervals. “Mount Rushmore” sets out a sizzling, three-way rally with Kano and Wretch 32 (his old crew teammates from N.A.S.T.Y. and The Movement respectively). Unbelievably the first time the trio has shared a track, it employs choir harmonies and the timeless words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr as the three enshrine their status as UK greats in stone-cold rhyme. <i>On Purpose, With Purpose</i> serves up a dedication to Ghetts’ perseverance and longevity, swinging through genres—and generations—from track to track. “We are pieces of a huge puzzle,” he says. “Sometimes, we’re not given enough credit for what we’ve been inspired by—or who we’ve gone on to inspire. Those very important conversations are just not had. But that attitude only comes from people who don’t really understand: The whole time I’ve been blessed, the whole time.”
