slowthai is back, and it ain't pretty. The Northampton rapper has announced his third studio album, led by new single "Selfish."
Things are bound to get Ugly on March 3 via Method / Interscope. The album follows 2021's TYRON. To celebrate the announcement, slowthai is livestreaming from a custom-built room made up of floor-to-ceiling two-way mirrors.
Ugly was produced by Speedy Wunderground's Dan Carey, and sees further collaborations with Fontaines D.C., Jockstrap's Taylor Skye, Beabadoobee guitarist Jacob Bugden, Kwes Darko, Ethan P. Flynn and Liam Toon.
The album title, tattooed beneath the artist's eye, is meant as an acronym for "U Gotta Love Yourself." He said in a statement, "I have UGLY tattooed on my face because it's a reminder to love myself, rather than put myself down constantly or feel the impression people have of me should determine who I am as a person."
Of the album, slowthai continued:
The first album was the sound of where I'm from and everything I thought I knew. The second album is what was relevant to me at that moment in time, the present. And this album is completely me — about how I feel and what I want to be… It's everything I've been leading up to.
This album was me trying to emulate the spirit of the brotherhood ethos that bands have. Music is about the feeling and emotion that goes into it. Like an artist making a painting, it's the expression of that moment in time. I really felt like I didn't want to rap, whereas before, rap was the only way I could express myself with the tools I had. Now that I have more freedom to create and do more, why wouldn't we change it up?
The insistent "Selfish" sees the rapper embrace a darker, post-punk sound. Listen to the single and check out the album's tracklisting below.
Ugly:
1. Yum
2. Selfish
3. Sooner
4. Feel Good
5. Never Again
6. Fuck It Puppet
7. Happy
8. Ugly
9. Falling
10. Wotz Funny
11. Tourniquet
12. 25% Club
Pre-order Ugly.
Things are bound to get Ugly on March 3 via Method / Interscope. The album follows 2021's TYRON. To celebrate the announcement, slowthai is livestreaming from a custom-built room made up of floor-to-ceiling two-way mirrors.
Ugly was produced by Speedy Wunderground's Dan Carey, and sees further collaborations with Fontaines D.C., Jockstrap's Taylor Skye, Beabadoobee guitarist Jacob Bugden, Kwes Darko, Ethan P. Flynn and Liam Toon.
The album title, tattooed beneath the artist's eye, is meant as an acronym for "U Gotta Love Yourself." He said in a statement, "I have UGLY tattooed on my face because it's a reminder to love myself, rather than put myself down constantly or feel the impression people have of me should determine who I am as a person."
Of the album, slowthai continued:
The first album was the sound of where I'm from and everything I thought I knew. The second album is what was relevant to me at that moment in time, the present. And this album is completely me — about how I feel and what I want to be… It's everything I've been leading up to.
This album was me trying to emulate the spirit of the brotherhood ethos that bands have. Music is about the feeling and emotion that goes into it. Like an artist making a painting, it's the expression of that moment in time. I really felt like I didn't want to rap, whereas before, rap was the only way I could express myself with the tools I had. Now that I have more freedom to create and do more, why wouldn't we change it up?
The insistent "Selfish" sees the rapper embrace a darker, post-punk sound. Listen to the single and check out the album's tracklisting below.
Ugly:
1. Yum
2. Selfish
3. Sooner
4. Feel Good
5. Never Again
6. Fuck It Puppet
7. Happy
8. Ugly
9. Falling
10. Wotz Funny
11. Tourniquet
12. 25% Club
Pre-order Ugly.
