The first time I heard any of The Streets’ stuff was on the Ministry of Sound: Annual 2003 album. It was a House remix of Weak Become Heroes, from the 2002 album Original Pirate Material and I really liked it! Then my bud Jacob gave me a copy of Original Pirate Material album and fell in love!

The Streets is not a group - it’s actually one guy, Mike Skinner, and he is one of the best MC’s around!

The reason I love this hip hop album is that, as a whole, the album tells a story. From the first track to the last, it’s a story of love, friendship, lost and revival - it really is amazing!! Each song can be judged on its own as well, they are all very, very good - but to listen to the album from start to finish really is amazing!

Basically, the story starts with a bad day where nothing is going right and the narrator finds that he has lost a lot of money (or was it stolen?!). The next track starts a little lighter: he meets a new girl and they really seem to hit it off (Could Well Be In is one of my favorite tracks on the album)! Next, he’s with his mates, they’re watching a soccer match and the team he’s betting on just lost! He fights with his girl, goes on vacation, suspects his friends of cheating with his girl and ultimately has to deal with the breakup.

The last track is really the best one on the entire album - I wont spoil it for you, but it’s fantastic. It has to be one of my top ten favorite songs of all time.

The entire album is a journey that really works - either as separate tracks or as an entire story!

If you like real Hip Hop (not pop crap that is manucatured to make money), then I highly recomend A Grand Don’t Come For Free!