Ghetts, ‘No Mercy’ (feat. Pa Salieu and BackRoad Gee)

As we near the year's end, #NowPlaying recommends songs that slipped through the cracks, but remain in our headphones.

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U.K. rapper Ghetts didn't slip through any cracks at home this year, I can tell you that. The veteran grime artist's latest project, Conflict of Interest, has been nominated for just about every album award in England, and deservedly so. It's a multi-faceted memoir in audio form that nonetheless feels like a theatrical experience. "No Mercy" is the antihero chapter, where Ghetts gets away with the figurative murder of his fellow MCs. I'm not going to necessarily endorse that metaphor for lyrical dexterity, but there's no questioning the East London native's lofty perch in the British grime hierarchy. But if we're being completely honest, it's not the bars that make "No Mercy" so memorable: It's those eerie, minor key "do-do-do's'' in the chorus. And that's fitting, because it's Ghetts' cinematic production choices that make Conflict of Interest such a compelling listen.

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