If you were a betting person, you might say that the odds for Skepta making an album-length comeback in 2018 were pretty good. He's announced a large-font slot at London's Lovebox festival, covered GQ alongside Naomi Campbell, and now, in a move that seems to signal that the grime kingpin will soon stage a full takeover of UK charts, car radios, and playlists, he's released a new single, "Pure Water" – hear it below.
While it's quite possible that the track might well just be a loosie (the Spotify cover art implies that it's a standalone single for now), you have to admit that it does seem like good timing for an album announce to be coming soon. As far as "Pure Water" itself is concerned, the title in and of itself invites all your best "icy" and "chilly" puns, and more importantly, it lives up to them. Skepta rides the sparse, percussive beat like the pro he is, and the "pure water and lots of ice" hook is an earworm. It's packed full of his trademark wit ("Nowadays they call me gingerbread man / they just can't catch him," anyone?) and will more than tide fans over as they wait for news of the follow-up to the Mercury winning Konnichiwa.
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This article originally appeared on Noisey UK.