Today (March 3), slowthai returns with his latest album UGLY, a 12-song body of work that was led by the singles “Selfish” and “Feel Good.” Prior to its release, the U.K. talent took to social media to explain the meaning behind the title. “At a time when I hated myself, creating this album saved me and taught me how to love myself.” he exclaimed. “U GOTTA LOVE YOURSELF.”
UGLY follows 2021’s TYRON, which contained 14 tracks and additional features from Skepta, A$AP Rocky, Dominic Fike, Denzel Curry, Deb Never, James Blake, and Mount Kimbie. The project landed at No. 1 on both the U.K. Official Albums and the U.K. R&B Albums charts, respectively. Prior to that, he released the critically acclaimed Nothing Great About Britain in 2019.
What became immediate upon hearing the aforementioned singles was slowthai’s intent to delve further into the punk spectrum. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he explained how the merging of different genres came together to create the final product. “Writing these kinds of songs is different to writing a rap, but at the same time, I’ve brought my formula of rap to rock,” he described. “That’s my twist on it, I suppose. Because it’s not singing but it’s not rapping either. I just feel it’s the way I could articulate my emotions better than rapping.”
In related news, slowthai will be going on tour this fall in support of the album, hitting up several dates across the U.K. and Europe. You can check out the full schedule for that below.
“UGLY Tour” dates:
Sept. 20: Glasgow — Barrowland Ballroom
Sept. 21: Manchester — O2 Victoria Warehouse
Sept. 22: London — Alexandra Palace
Sept. 23: Birmingham — O2 Academy
Sept. 27: Paris — Elysee Montmarte
Sept. 28: Amsterdam — Paradiso
Sept. 29: Berlin — Metropol
Sept. 30: Brussels — AB
Press play on UGLY.