After a four year absence the producer and rapper from Ladbroke Grove is back and bringing some heavyweight friends with him.

Ché Wolton Grant, better known as AJ Tracey, has been producing music for nearly a decade now. Both of his previous albums were quality, grime tinged, hip-hop offerings, and this new album is no different. ‘Outta Sight’ and ‘Second Nature’ are both tightly focused. A range of production talent is involved in this album. D-Block Europe collaborator Nathaniel London appears the most often with AJ Tracey himself next most responsible for the beats. Various others pop up on one or two credits.

Recent single ‘3rd Time Lucky’ marks an evolution in Tracey’s style. Previously he has kept a distance from his most personal feelings and thoughts, but this track is fiercely autobiographical. It touches upon difficult times when he was growing up, the sacrifices his Mum made to raise him, the absenteeism of his Dad. It has a gorgeous nagging piano line running through it and is genuinely moving lyrically and musically.

‘Crush’ has been one of the biggest hits from the album so far, propelled by a great turn from the fantastic rising star that is Jorja Smith. She moves between a range of styles on her own releases and here she is offering a cheeky spoken word verse/bridge before then singing the chorus. There is a nice turn from Nemzzz on the unreleased album track ‘Talking Stage.’

‘Prem Proven’ is probably my favourite of the non-single tracks. The beats are absolutely driven and like a number of tracks it doesn’t outstay its welcome, getting out whilst it is still winning.

You have to discuss ‘Paid in Full’ with its White Town sample. Back in 1996 and 1997 ‘Your Woman’ was a massive hit, it sounded totally fresh with its muted trumpet sample. With male vocals singing the female perspective it was memorable and showcased a number of production advances by being recorded in his own home, something now comonplace. Big Zuu pops up on Tracey’s track, which makes a lot more sense when you discover he is Tracey’s cousin. Tracey recently appeared on ‘Big Zuu and AJ Tracey’s Rich Flavours’ with the television personality.

‘Joga Bonito,’ meaning ‘play beautifully’ in Portuguese, has already wracked up 40 million streams on Spotify. I much prefer newer single ‘Friday Prayer’ which has powerhouse turns from Headie One and Aitch. Final track ‘Red Wine’ features one of the big names from this years Are You Listening? Festival, Master Peace. It oddly reminds me of Canadian indie-artist Exxstacy’s work, though like a happier, more summery version.

This is a very strong album that I enjoyed hugely. It is probably a toss-up between this and the much more complex and darker album from Billy Woods, ‘GOLLIWOG’ for my favourite hip-hop album of the year so far. I will be seeking him out this year at Reading Festival, unless there is a heavy duty stage clash.