Big Narstie’s major-label debut is just like him: generously supersized, bursting with wit. The south London MC-presenter has had two years of increasing mainstream exposure, now launching his own Channel 4 chatshow. Yet BDL Bipolar unleashes countless ideas, subjects and feelings, as though he fears this moment won’t come again.
Nothing’s off the table – struggles with mental health, the grime life, his daughter’s difficult birth – and there’s an authentic intensity to his bars, overcoming technical flaws. The album peaks early with the sparse, frazzled single 5am, a chilly moment of introspection amid tail-thumping bangers. It’s a draining listen, answering the call of Spotify’s bottom line. The 18 busy tracks hop genre, scrabbling to cover all commercial bases. When, an hour in, the ever-grating Keith Lemon lumbers in to kneecap the album’s momentum, there’s still a horrifying 25 minutes to go. Fortunately, there’s just enough stellifying brilliance on tracks such as Grime Battle of Hastings to compensate. BDL Bipolar may take the length and format of a mixtape, but has the hidden depths of a promising album.
