slowthai Announces “UGLY” Release Date, Wrestles with Thinking for Himself on “Selfish”

The March 3 release date was announced alongside a livestream of the rapper spending time by himself in a room.

slowthai Announces UGLY Release Date, Wrestles with Thinking for Himself on “Selfish”

The March 3 release date was announced alongside a livestream of the rapper spending time by himself in a room.

Words: Margaret Farrell

Photo: George Muncey

January 25, 2023

Today, rapper and explosive personality slowthai announced his third studio album UGLY will be released March 3 via Method Records/Interscope. The news comes with the single "Selfish" and a (performance art?) livestream of him spending time by himself in room, which was custom built with floor-to-ceiling two-way mirrors. At this time, he's been in the room around six hours.

The new track finds slowthai in an agitated, worried state thinking about life's ironies and the fine lines between selflessness, selfishness, and survival. Produced by Dan Carey and Kwes Darko, "Selfish" is pungent and fully loaded with punk energy; electrically charged synths zigzag around urgent kick-drum-heavy rhythm and an ominously slithering guitar. "It makes me sick when I look at the world / 'Cause nothing feels real," he admits before jumping into the chorus. "Thinking for myself / Thinking I'm just thinking for myself." slowthai exposes the paranoia and self-doubt surrounding existence in a world where everyone's watching, judging, persuading, or manipulating.

“It doesn’t matter what or who people think you are, you’ve just got to stay true and respect yourself," he shared. "I have 'UGLY' tattooed on my face because it’s a reminder to love myself, rather than put myself down constantly or feel the impression people have of me should determine who I am as a person. At the end of the day, the art I make is for myself, and the music I make is for myself, if I enjoy it then who gives a fuck.”

Listen to "selfish" and watch the livestream below. Pre-order UGLY here.