Tricky is to release Ghetto Stars as the second single taken from his critically acclaimed ninth album, Mixed Race. Ghetto Stars will be available via digital download (RUG386D) on 29th November.
Opening with a spoken word segment from infamous ‘career criminal’ Freddie Foreman, relaying the grim realities of gangster life, the video for ‘Ghetto Stars’ by Tricky is a suitably evocative experience which brings to life the urban dread and despair contained within the song . Using beautifully shot footage from Tricky’s recent live show at Koko in London, capturing the visceral, raw nature of the man’s live performance, the inclusion of scenes of Tricky hanging out with his family and friends in South London also provides an intimate glimpse into his private life, adding a powerful dimension to the overall work which is bound to lodge itself in your consciousness.
Ghetto Stars is a dark, tense and heavy track about the reality of the gangster lifestyle, too often glamourised in music. Tricky tells it like it is, “Ghetto Stars don’t go far, ghetto traps locked behind bars” and “…riding in Zephyrs while my Nan plays the bingo.” The track features vocals from Tricky’s latest muse, Franky Riley, who toured as Tricky’s live vocalist and co-writes here for the first time.