Pa Salieu is known for his energetic dispatches from Coventry, reports that are filled with the tribulations and triumphs that he’s experienced. Brash self-reflection is slowthai’s MO, and over the course of two albums, his off-the-wall sensibility hasn’t dissipated by one iota, merely matured along with him. The two UK rappers have come together on “Glidin,’” a song about staying above it all, about no longer needing to prove yourself. As Pa Salieu raps in the chorus, “Any kinda smoke, man glidin’/Any kinda war, man glidin,’”. He’s up front and direct here, and when he takes the mic, he’s equally liable to lay down lines in a barrage or a melodic dancehall-inflected hum. slowthai’s almost inexhaustible well of forward momentum comes forth in a jittery, yet controlled outburst.

If it seems somewhat ironic that a song about coasting on your laurels would sound so intense, consider who you’re dealing with. Underpinned by a corroded melody, the sweltering production is pleasantly discordant; clattering drum rolls and Xerox noises provide the percussion. Over this mix, Pa Salieu stays irrepressible. He’s unconcerned with criticism (“The dirt I’ve done, mi nah care, mi nah care/If I licked your guy, mi nah care, mi nah care”) or anyone trying to show him up (“I’m tryna take off heads, you’re weak”). slowthai’s confident verse moves from spoken mantras to a head-spinning set of declarations about himself (“Born in a war, got called for a hater/Girl want di nurture, not in my nature/Always been a worker, with a likkle flavor”). He’s at the point where he’s no longer the young up-and-comer, but an old hand who can boast with ease about his work ethic. Watching the two rap rings around each other is a dizzying experience, and when Pa Salieu says, “I give them the best of me,” in the final verse, you get the sense he speaks for them both.