Seven years is a long time between solo albums. Long enough for the world to change, for an artist to change with it, and for the meaning of success to look a little different when the spotlight comes back around.
On November 6, 2026, Skepta released The Fork and Knife, his first full-length solo album since 2019’s Ignorance Is Bliss. The 15-track project arrives through Big Smoke and Epic Records, with a guest list that moves across British rap, grime, R&B and electronic music.
A table full of collaborators
The album features Central Cee, Jorja Smith, Novelist, Finessekid, Fred again.. and PlaqueBoyMax. Its nine-minute track “Belly” brings together Skepta with JME, Frisco, Kibo, Queenie, Bossman Birdie, Mayhem NODB and Kruz Leone. It is a broad cast, but the record’s center of gravity is personal.
In an interview with Complex UK, Skepta described the album as a reflection on being British as the son of Nigerian immigrants and living between two cultures. The release notes frame diaspora not as a split identity, but as a source of strength. That idea gives the album its title a little extra weight: a fork and knife can suggest a formal dinner, but the most revealing meal in his story is the one that feels like home.
What success looks like after you get there
Skepta recalled a moment at the GQ Awards when his mother saw the elaborate food served at the event and asked whether he knew what it was. His answer, he said, was yes—this was the kind of thing the family once imagined as success. But the memory also revealed the distance between the symbols of achievement and what people actually value.
He told Complex that the album represents the irony that his mother does not want fancy dinners; she wants ground rice and stew. He also spoke about buying his parents a house in Lagos. The anecdote is warm, funny and more revealing than a standard victory lap. It turns the album’s title into a question about aspiration: what are we working toward, and who gets to decide when we have enough?
Grime, family and a wider frame
The record follows a seven-year gap since Ignorance Is Bliss, but it is not a farewell. Skepta told Complex he may take breaks when he needs to rest his mind, but does not expect to retire from music. That distinction matters. The new album is not presented as a final statement; it is a return with a different perspective on the work and the life around it.
The release is accompanied by sold-out performances in London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. For listeners outside the UK, the album also offers a portrait of an artist whose sound has traveled widely while his questions remain rooted in family, identity and the place he calls home.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
When you reach a goal you once dreamed about, how do you know whether it is still what you want?
STAY IN THE MOOD
Sometimes the biggest flex is not the room you get invited into. It is remembering who you are, who fed you, and what still tastes like home.
Live Your Mood.
Reporting note: Release date, track count, collaborators and Skepta’s comments are drawn from Complex’s November 6, 2026 reporting and the album release information. The photograph is credited by Complex to Press/Jordan Hemingway.
Complex — Skepta Ends Seven-Year Album Wait With ‘The Fork and Knife’ · Listen to the album
