Plan B - No Good

Plan B

Released: February 19, 2007

Label: 679
Written By: Aman Panglin
Rating: 8/10

The second single from Plan B’s critically acclaimed debut album Who Needs Actions When You Got Words is the amped up No Good which uses a sample from one of the biggest electronica dance hits; The Prodigy’s No Good For Me (Start The Dance).

Blatantly influenced by the hard hitting, rock-rave style of The Prodigy, producer Paul Epworth creates a head-nodding track with complemented with a softer guitar focus which kicks in after the initial pumping of the basic beat. The influence is indeed obvious but it is definitely no rip off as the song takes on a persona of its own. So let’s ignore the Prodigy for a bit.

Plan B spits some vicious lyrics over a hefty beat. His dexterous ability and insane imagery combine to give the track validity in terms of the ‘real’. Real street talk is what Plan B has become recognised and celebrated for but often the irony he portrays though the clever quick wittedness is his tracks is ignored. Drawing people in with the opening “I stab you in the eye yo – With a fucking biro” and continuing with a lyrical slaughter, he even goes as far as stating “I’m archetypal”, the irony here is that he thinks of himself as a typical, normal guy but in terms of music the guy is doing it big.

Interestingly, Plan B has been compared to Eminem but I think this is only because of the fact that they’re both white rappers. Looking beyond that Plan B has his own style which is evident through this very track along with his whole LP as well as his uniqueness when playing acoustically. He is one of those guys that come along once in a while and stand out from the crowd because they do shit differently and that alone is impressive, copying others is all too easy. You should also check out Where Ya From featuring JME and Skepta and Bizzness Woman featuring Killa Kella.