On February 8th, 2024, the Barking-bred emcee Potter Payper strolled onto the MOBO’s stage like Breaking Bad’s Walter White—top hat’n all—to accept his well-deserved award for his 2023 project, Real Back In Style.
Igniting molten discourse on Rap Twitter, many were up in arms and upset. Some fans were overjoyed and thought Payper’s award was long overdue. More importantly though, Payper himself and Miami rap star/Wingstop aficionado Rick Ross were far from surprised. This was the moment that solidified Potter Payper’s legacy in UK rap folklore.
Never one to shy away from hard work, Payper got right back to it. Manifesting as the sequel sibling to 2021’s Thanks for Waiting—Thanks for Hating is a coarse, grit-marinated road soap opera. Boasting a small but calculated list of collaborators and musical hired guns like Headie One, Nafe Smallz, Mozzy, and Clavish, Payper’s 18-track rap fixture mixes everything fans would typically expect from the East London spitter. Still, Thanks For Hating doesn’t intentionally sand off its charming DatPiff-like qualities, and for that, the mixtape is better off for it.
There are beats so sharp they’ll cut your ears, lyrics so heavy they’ll tow you to the ocean floor—and a mise en scène-like quality only found in batches of Potter Payper’s music. While some fans might not find it as compelling as its predecessor (it won a MOBO, after all) or as innovative as classic tapes like Training Day 2, one thing is abundantly clear: this is some damn good rap music.
Opening with the blunt and blistering “Inaugural”, this ode to authenticity sees Payper deliver his usual tapestry of self-assured raps over a tranquil, burner ringtone-driven instrumental cocktail. Transitioning seamlessly into “Trench P (London City)”, followed by the Slim-assisted “Drive By” and “Midas Touch” featuring ADMT, these tracks showcase rattling hi-hats and booming electric basslines, powerful enough to lift Thor’s hammer. After experiencing this trifecta, Potter clarifies his intentions: he’s not out to prove himself; he’s simply honing his artistic artillery.
Later-stage album cuts like “59901R” with Headie One also stand out in the tracklist. With bars that position the listener in Payper’s mind during times of struggle, a minimal beat, and a trap-seared melodic refrain positioned right before the OFB general’s verse, make “59901R” a song primed for replay.
Spewing lyrics that paint Payper in the same light as Franklin Saint from TV’s coke thriller Snowfall, Payper raps: “It’s Frankie, not Franklin, but my lifestyle snowfall. I done years with hammers, you should call man Noble. I got a ten-ten rocket, I don’t take that Nobu. How you want the new me when you’re still the old you?”
Mid-album treat “Sinaloa Cartel” is also worth raving about. Boasting one of the project’s most memorable beats and some entrancing wordplay to boot, Payper channels his inner Klashnekoff with a Mexican twist for good measure.
Cuts like the Clavish collab “Head Knees & Shoulders”, the Mozzy and Daff-assisted “Free Daff”, and the title track carefully dip into 2010s American rap nostalgia. Thanks to their timeless “Faneto” or “Dreams & Nightmares”-style beats and tear-jerking pathos, they’re not to be missed. West Coast rapper Mozzy’s appearance helps bridge the transatlantic gap. Still, Payper emerges as the man of the match, displaying lyrical conviction and excellent showmanship on the title track. If “Thanks For Hating” doesn’t leave you with chills, you must’ve listened to it on mute.
As mentioned earlier, Thanks For Hating is not polished. One could imagine it would’ve been best served as a CD on the street corners of Barking in 2008 in terms of its beat selection alone [next to Joe Grind and Blade Brown]. Despite this, the project is still modern and forward-thinking when it comes to rhyming techniques at least.
Overall, Thanks For Hating is quality rap, but not much more. Then again, what else do you listen to Potter Payper for? It’s not for Celine Dion ballads. The project succeeds in almost every metric we judge Potter Payper by, and as far as the mixtape goes, it’s solid and almost on par with its predecessor.
One can only hope Potter Payper’s sophomore album or future mixtape will showcase the next stage of his evolution. For now, Thanks For Hating will do just fine.
Stream Thanks For Hating below on GRM Daily.