Mike Skinner, the former frontman of the Streets, has swapped late-night hedonism for school runs and nappy changes. In his new memoir, the rapper reveals how he left behind a reputation for outlandish drug-fuelled parties to focus on his wife Claire and their two young children, Amelia and George. The 34-year-old musician, who announced the end of his music career last year, now describes his future in filmmaking.
Skinner's memoir charts his journey from the suburbs of Birmingham to the top of the British music scene. His first album, Original Pirate Material, made it acceptable for British artists to rap in their own accent, and his second, A Grand Don't Come For Free, was hailed as 'half Dostoevsky, half Samuel Pepys'. But the man behind hits such as Blinded by the Lights and Fit But You Know It says he never expected such success. 'I thought it would be successful with people in Birmingham,' he explains. 'But hipsters in London, Williamsburg and Berlin loved it instead.'
Despite the Streets' association with lager louts and ecstasy, Skinner is cerebral and reserved. He attended a Brits after-party only because his wife organised it, and left after 15 minutes, feeling 'more alone than ever'. Now, with a toddler daughter and baby son, he prefers the company of a small circle of close friends. 'Maybe five,' he says of his inner circle.
Skinner's transition from music to film has been natural. During a photoshoot recreating the cover of Original Pirate Material, he was more absorbed in the camera equipment than the shoot itself. 'Standing there,' he recalls of the after-party, 'I'd never felt more alone in my life.' The memoir, described as cleverer and funnier than any other pop biography, serves as his final curtain call before he devotes himself to his new family life and career behind the camera.
