The Birmingham-raised Mike Skinner came up in the UK garage scene of the early aughts. Embracing an everyman persona, his debut album, Original Pirate Material, showcased his knack for dropping witty and relatable lyrics that shine a light on the club scene and talk about relationship misadventures. The follow up, 2004's A Grand Don't Come for Free, is a conceptual project that plays out like a British soap opera, while 2005's The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living sees Skinner lamenting on the cost of fame.