Loyle Carner - Yesterday’s Gone

The Guardian 80

(AMF)
Croydon rapper Ben Loyle-Carner is candid and driven on a beguiling album that features a guest turn by his mum…

Hip-hop has a sentimental streak a mile wide. Few rappers miss the chance to build up a bittersweet creation myth, establishing hard-knock lives as well as street cred. And there’s no shortage of rappers who love their mums. But newcomer Loyle Carner (Ben Coyle-Larner, to the Student Loans Company) takes these old tendencies to a startling new place.

He not only loves his mum, he gives her airtime – to recite a poem about him. Where most 21-year-olds might have a stoned skit, Swear finds Ben teasing his mother about her swearing.

Related: Loyle Carner shares his family strife to create awkwardly confessional hip-hop