The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living (2006)

To American ears, it's odd to hear an album about the trappings of rap stardom from a goofy twerp who couldn't pay his way into a celeb rag. But, as Brit MC Mike Skinner (a.k.a. the Streets) explains on ''Two Nations,'' a stinging U.K.- versus-U.S. track from his nervy third LP, ''Understated is how we prefer to be/ That's why I've sold 3 million and you've never heard of me.'' The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living undercuts potential mo' money, mo' problems clichés with a cheeky self-awareness that transcends national borders.

You Might Also Like

• The Q&A A conversation with the Streets | Leah Greenblatt
• Music News Four reasons to care about the Streets | Brian Hiatt