Skepta used his Reading Festival set on August 28 to play three songs from his long-awaited album Fork & Knife for the first time anywhere: "Pandora's Box," "Aloe Vera" and "Innocent Smile."
The record follows 2019's Ignorance Is Bliss and his recent house-influenced EP Mas Tiempo Vol. 2. He said back in April that he was putting finishing touches on it, and no release date has been given since.
The set had its own visual: the Nigerian artist Slawn spray-painted live throughout the performance.
The moment the crowd will remember came during "Toxic," his 2025 collaboration with Playboi Carti. Skepta brought two fans onstage who had gone viral for dancing to the track while working security at a Playboi Carti show in London, and who lost their jobs over it. "These are my two security guard brothers," he said, explaining that they had been fired for dancing and so had to be brought out live.
He played Leeds the following day. Earlier in the month NME caught his main stage set at Sziget in Budapest, which opened on "Shutdown," and the same outlet gave Ignorance Is Bliss four stars on release.
The weekend is logged on the festival tracker with the rest of the hip-hop summer. Skepta's calendar also runs to the clubs: he is booked for Hi Ibiza's 2026 closing party with Black Coffee. Elsewhere at Reading, Royal Blood revealed a secret set.
The facts
- Skepta debuted Pandora's Box, Aloe Vera and Innocent Smile at Reading
- Fork & Knife follows 2019's Ignorance Is Bliss
- The album still has no release date
- Artist Slawn spray-painted live during the set
- Two fired security guards joined him during Toxic
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