Original Pirate Material is the debut album by the English rapper and producer Mike Skinner, under the name
The StreetsThe Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...
.
The album is a unique take on
UK garageUK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
and lyrics dealing with everyday circumstances and occurrences. The album originally rose to #12 on the
UK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
in 2002, and then peaked at #10 in 2004 after the release of the second Streets album
A Grand Don't Come for FreeA Grand Don't Come for Free is the second studio album from British garage and Hip hop act The Streets. It was released on 18 May 2004 and is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die...
. In Australia,
Original Pirate Material peaked at #57.
In March 2003,
NMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
placed
Original Pirate Material at number 46 on their list of the "100 Best Albums of All Time". They subsequently placed
Original Pirate Material at number 9 in their list of the "100 Best Albums of the Decade".
Observer Music MonthlyThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
ranked it as the best album of the 00s. The critic
Simon ReynoldsSimon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
also placed the album at the top of his favourite albums of the 2000s list, with a "special 'in a class of its own' award."
Pitchfork MediaPitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
rated the album as number ten on their list of the top 100 albums of 2000-2004. They later placed it at 36 on their list of the best albums of 2000-2009.
In the United Kingdom, five singles were released from
Original Pirate Material: "Has It Come to This?", "Let's Push Things Forward", "Weak Become Heroes", "Don't Mug Yourself" and "The Irony of It All".
The cover artwork photograph of
Original Pirate Material is by German photographer
Rut Blees LuxemburgRut Blees Luxemburg is a German photographer. Her technique is to take photographs at night, mostly exploring the urban landscape. She is a Tutor at the Royal College of Art.-Life and work:...
called
Towering Inferno. The towerblock pictured is Kestrel House on
City RoadCity Road or The City Road is a road that runs through inner north and central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at the Angel, Islington where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for London's first bypass, the New Road from...
, London.
Track listing