1. PLAN B - ILL MANORS
TRACK OF THE YEAR:
The date was 27th February, it was about half 7 in the evening, and it was a moment I'd been waiting for, well a lot of people had been waiting for. We'd been promised a vastly different sound from Ben Drew in his 3rd album, and a return to rap was what many had hoped for. However, I don't think anyone expected what was to come. 'Ill Manors' was what we heard, with the single and album, and what we later saw with the film. But the single, my god... I was blown away, I listened over and over and over again. So much so that after listening to an in depth interview with 1xtra's Mistajam and Plan B, I felt compelled to write about it, and I mean properly write about it - the track struck something inside me. This was the article I wrote, if you're at all interested: 'There's no such thing as broken Britain, we're just bloody broke in Britain'. I've cut out section from my article, "To many people, it may just sound ‘shouty’, ‘chavy’ or even ‘inflammatory’, but this only highlights much of what Ben tries to convey through his music. Problems in society. The uneducated mess in the UK – either academically or socially." This track inspired me so much. The production, the lyrics and their delivery were flawless. But so many tracks, in this list especially, have that sorted too know. What Ben's track had that no other real track this year had, was a message. Not some bullshit, 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' type of thing. A real message, something worth spreading. But it was something not enough people were spreading. You think about this summer in the UK; it was magical, sporting achievements that could fill up The Thames. You remember the summer before that in London though? Hmm, not so nice and happy. Plan B dared to go right to the heart of that. Not skirt around, picking off singled out bits of 'news' like the papers and TV companies did. He dived straight in at the deep end. And for that, he needs praise.
I've realised I'm ranting again, and I've already done that in the article I've attached, but I hope I've managed to show you just why 'Ill Manors' is my un-doubtable Track Of 2012.
