British rapper Skepta is facing criticism after things went left when he unveiled the artwork for his new single, “Gas Me Up (Diligent).” The cover features a group of men donning identical overcoats with shaved heads, and notably, one person has the words “gas me up” tattooed on the back of his head.
The cover was created by photographer Gabriel Moses. Critics argue that the imagery bears an unsettling resemblance to the Holocaust, pointing out the shaved heads were reminiscent of how Jewish people were forced to shave in Nazi death camps before facing gas chambers. They contend that the use of the term “gas me up” is a crass allusion to the tragic methods employed by German Nazis to exterminate Jewish people during World War II.
Skepta, who is of Nigerian descent, said that he had been working on the art since he announced the project’s release in April 2023. He claims the inspiration was based on the British skinhead culture from the 1960s to 1980s.
Before deleting the artwork from social media, the Mercury prize-winning UK artist tweeted, “I’ve been waiting to drop Gas Me Up (Diligent) since teasing it April last year, worked hard getting the artwork right for my album rollout which is about my parents coming to the UK in the 80’s, 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.”
I’ve been waiting to drop Gas Me Up (Diligent) since teasing it April last year, worked hard getting the artwork right for my album rollout which is about my parents coming to the UK in the 80’s, Skinhead, Football culture and it has been taken offensively by many and I can…
— Big Smoke – (@Skepta) January 10, 2024
Also, the term “Gas Me Up” means to blow someone’s ego up, hyping them when they are doing something.
However, three hours later, he doubled down on his artistic expression, posting the mood boards for the album cover and insisting on sticking with his original concept.
“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,” the rapper tweeted. “But after some thought, 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. So to help with context here are some pictures from our mood board for the 1980’s UK story for my album ‘Knife & Fork’ Gas Me Up (DILIGENT) will be out January 26th as planned.”
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. But after some thought I don’t feel like I could continue being the artist you all know and love if my art is policed, I have to… pic.twitter.com/59oUOPe8Hp
— Big Smoke – (@Skepta) January 10, 2024
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the original skinhead subculture emerged among urban, working-class youths in Britain around 1969, blending style elements from white “Mods” and Black West Indian “Rudeboys.” Initially, it was not perceived as a racist movement. However, by the 1980s, a transformation occurred.
The subculture underwent a shift as white power skinheads, influenced by rock musicians such as Skrewdriver, Skullhead, and No Remorse, gained prominence. In a matter of years, this movement, now associated with racist ideologies, extended its reach to the United States, becoming synonymous with racialized violence and earning designation as a hate group spewing anti-Black and antisemitic rhetoric.
Aside from the skinhead reference, Jewish people have a connection to shaving their head and the word “gas,” which is in the title.
As prisoners in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, Jews were required to cut and shave off all the hair on their bodies during the induction procedures. Female Jews who were to be murdered in the gas chambers at the Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka extermination centers were required to shave all of their hair before meeting their doomed fate.
Some social media users said Skepta’s art evoked this imagery.
Many on social media question why Skepta did not see the obvious connection between his album cover and the hate movement that took over the skinheads over the last 40 years.
“Incredibly stupid and insensitive. ‘Gas’ with skinheads everywhere = holocaust connotations. Also house music isn’t skinheads that’s more dnb,” one person tweeted.
Another blasted him for not staying away from the drama, writing, “Just change the artwork. You can’t be mad at the pushback when ppl have 0 CONTEXT but gas in the title and men in skinheads.”
Many tried to defend the artist, saying the song was about “skinheads and how his family was treated in the 80s.” One fan said, “I don’t see a holocaust link at all. It’s just skinheads. I’m pretty woke, any thinking person is, but this kind of sensitivity is a bit neurotic.”
Adding, “Some of my friends in the 80s were skinheads, not at all racist or they wouldn’t have been my pals. Two tone?”
Skepta’s new album Knife and Fork is set to drop in this spring, months before he hosts the inaugural Big Smoke Festival, a one-day, two-stage festival to be held on July 6, 2024, at Crystal Palace Park in southeast London.