Plan B - 'Who Needs Actions When You Got Words' (679) Released 26/06/06

If you thought the swearing on the current series of Big Brother was bad you haven’t heard anything. Plan B’s mouth is so filthy its unbelievable, the first thing he says on the album is “****ing ****s” from then on in it gets more aggressive and angry, to the point where the swear words lose their impact. For example on ‘Sick 2 Def’ Plan B spits, “Like a necrophiliac raping a corpse up the anal passage where I contracted genital warts, my metaphors are twisted like that game where you got to put that hob nob in your gob if you’re the last one to cum on the biscuit”. This is truly shocking and a real “Did he just say that?” moment not heard since Eminem first broke through. However the more you listen to it becomes farcical, like he is trying to get a reaction by saying as much sick stuff as possible.

Plan B also references Eastenders ‘Little Mo’ on the same track, whilst it’s a witty cultural reference it seems odd that this angry street rapper stops being gangster at half past seven of an evening to catch up on Walfords residents. ‘Charmaine’ is a track about falling in love with a girl “half black, half Caucasian”. Plan B’s intentions are pure as he says “I don’t want to juice her, I want to date her”. In fairness it’s quite a sweet tune with a funny self deferential line about how he tripped over a step in a bar. Mike Skinner should take note on how to remain ‘street’ and ‘sweet’ at the same time. However all is not straight forward in Plan B’s life and the track comes to an uncomfortable end when he is told that Charmaine is only 14. Eek!

The Eminem comparisons continue on ‘Mama’ a song dedicated to his mother and her crack smoking boyfriend. The sentiment on the track is most definitely real and the rhymes combined with the acoustic guitar make an interesting sound, however the whole thing has been done before by another white rapper about five years ago.

Plan B demands attention and that can only be a good thing. His tales of street life fit in neatly with the likes of The Streets, Kano and Sway whilst fans of The Rakes and Hard Fi may well enjoy the more intense stories of Plan B’s life. Relating to the stories is not always easy as they are so extreme and the language used, not necessarily swear words but just “Ghetto English”, is off putting. However perseverance pays off and ‘Who Needs Actions…’ is worth the investment. Perhaps download a few tunes first to see if it’s your thing.