UK Top Ten Albums 1-31-20 – 2-6-20

1 – BIG CONSPIRACY – J HUS – B

2 – MUSIC TO BE MURDERED BY – EMINEM – B

3 – HOT SPOT – PET SHOP BOYS – C-

4 –  DIVINELY UNINSPIRED TO A HELLISH EXTENT – LEWIS CAPALDI – C

5 – HUNCHOLINI THE 1ST – M HUNCHO – B

6 – HEAVY IS THE HEAD – STORMZY – B+

7 – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO – BILLIE EILISH – A

8 –  NO 6 COLLABORATIONS PROJECT – ED SHEERAN – B

9 – FINE LINE – HARRY STYLES – B+

10 – ALL THE HITS – DAVE CLARK FIVE – A-

Comment: four of the top five, five of the top six, and eight of the top ten are local talent. The real question is, why hasn’t grime taken off in the States despite the imprinteur of both Kanye and Drake. My feeling is, the US doesn’t want rapping with a British accent, but if you listen to J Hus he isn’t simply grime: you can hear dancehall in his DNA and African sounds are all over it (at first I thought he was originally Nigerian).  Oh, yeah and he got eight months in prison for having a concealed weapon (a knife).