On Monday (January 8) evening, British rapper Skepta announced his upcoming single “Gas Me Up (Diligent)” via Instagram. Posting the single’s cover art to his account, the image showed a close-up of a group of people with buzzcuts, all in similar attire, with the track’s title tattooed across the back of one shaved head. The Gabriel Moses-lensed cover attracted immediate criticism online for seemingly alluding to WWII and the Holocaust.
This morning, Skepta removed the image following the criticism, posting an apology to his X account explaining that any allusions to the Holocaust were unintentional. “I’ve been waiting to drop “Gas Me Up (Diligent)” since teasing it April last year,” he began, “worked hard getting the artwork right for my album rollout which is about my parents coming to the UK in the 80s, Skinhead, Football culture and it has been taken offensively by many and I can promise you that was definitely not our plan so I have removed it and I vow to be more mindful going forward.”
In a separate tweet, the rapper then went on to say that “I can honestly see how my single artwork without context can be deemed offensive, especially in a time like this but again that was not my intention.” He then posted a moodboard of vintage images from 1980s Britain to “help with context”. Along with multiple images of tattooed shaved heads, the references contained the logo of ska label 2 Tone Records, this image from documentary photographer Scott Houston called ‘Non Racist Skinheads At A Gig in New York City’, and another by English photographer Gavin Watson who’s known for documenting 80s skinhead culture.
In the same statement, the rapper also commented that “I don’t feel like I could continue being the artist you all know and love if my art is policed, I have to quit if I can’t express my art as I see it.” Skepta is still set to release “Gas Me Up (Diligent)” on its original date, January 26. The track is the lead single from the rapper’s upcoming sixth studio album Knife & Fork, which he announced on New Year’s Day and is slated for release later this year.
