| Edna | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 9 October 2020 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 63:29 | |||
| Label | Relentless | |||
| Producer |
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| Headie One chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Edna | ||||
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Edna is the debut studio album by British rapperHeadie One. It was released byRelentless Records on 9 October 2020.[1] The album features guest appearances fromM Huncho,AJ Tracey,Stormzy,Young T & Bugsey,Young Adz,Future,Drake,Skepta,Ivorian Doll,Kenny Beats,Aitch,Haile,Mahalia, andKaash Paige.[2][3] A deluxe version of the album was released on 12 February 2021 which features guest appearances fromRich the Kid,NorthSideBenji,Burna Boy and RV.[4]
Headie One first teasedEdna to release on 18 August 2020.[5][6] On 24 September 2020 Headie One appeared in an interview with 16BARS and spoke about the album and the meaning behind the title,Edna.
My mum's name is Edna. Obviously when I was younger, I was like 3-years old, my mum passed away, init. So I grew up like, it was just me, my pops and my sister, that was my household. You know what I'm tryna' say? So, I felt like I ain't really had nothing to give since this music stuff so I felt like if I was gonna' do my debut album, it's only right I named it after her.[7]
On 2 October 2020 Headie One released the album's official tracklist via hisInstagram andTwitter, building hype for the project with a lineup of talented and big features such asM Huncho,AJ Tracey,Stormzy,Young T & Bugsey,Young Adz,Future,Drake,Skepta,Ivorian Doll,Kenny Beats,Aitch,Haile,Mahalia, andKaash Paige.[8]
On 12 February 2021 Headie released a deluxe edition ofEdna which included an additional eight tracks alongside features fromRich the Kid,NorthSideBenji,Burna Boy andRV.[4][9][10]
The album's lead single, "Only You Freestyle" was released on 20 July 2020, withDrake.[11][12][13] The album's seconds single, "Ain't It Different" was released on 19 August 2020, withAJ Tracey andStormzy.[14][15][16] The album's third single, "Breathing" was released on 5 October 2020.[17][18][19] The album's fourth and final single, "Princess Cuts" was released on 8 October 2020, withYoung T & Bugsey, just a day prior to the release of the entire album.[20][21]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.9/10[22] |
| Metacritic | 87/100[23] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [24] |
| The Arts Desk |  [25] |
| Clash | 9/10[26] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [27] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 9/10[28] |
| Loud and Quiet | 8/10[29] |
| NME | [30] |
| The Observer | [31] |
| The Times | [32] |
Edna was met with critical acclaim. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received anaverage score of 87 based on five reviews.[23] The aggregator AnyDecentMusic? has the critical consensus of the album at a 7.9 out of 10, based on seven reviews.[22]
Writing forAllMusic, David Crone stated introspection comes to light onEdna for the first time in Headie One's career and that the project "is a reflection of both life and career, paying homage to his diverse sonic palette while offering lyrical insight into his journey here". He also stated that, "sonically,Edna is set out like a banquet of the rapper's works, tapping styles across the scene for a comprehensive representation of his career" and that it is "the sound of its mastery: pulling out all the stops for an expansive statement of self, the Tottenham native provides his most compelling set yet."[24]The Arts Desk's Joe Muggs wrote that the album "sounds like a million pounds: absorbing dancehall, Afro-swing and more styles besides, British rap is now as confident in itself sonically as Headie is lyrically". He wrote that "in many parts [the album's] grim, cold and violent" but "there’s a lot you can learn about this country from hearing that grimness expressed with such determined intelligence."[25] Writing forClash, Robert Kazandjian stated that "the twenty-track project, dedicated to his late mother, features Headie’s strongest, most reflective writing to date" and that "distance offers clarity, and the further he navigates away from his past life, the more vivid the pictures he paints of it". He noted that "the true power of the album lies in Headies's introspection, when he’s alone with the beat and his thoughts".[26]
The Daily Telegraph's Neil McCormick wrote that "despite its focus on crime and punishment and prodigious use of gangland slang, Edna proves far more thoughtful than the genre’s reputation might lead listeners to expect", however, if you "strip away the lyrics, and the strange mix of electro loops, nervous beats, sad melodies and sci-fi sounds is utterly compelling and contemporary, evidence of a cutting edge local music scene that continues to thrive even with venue doors barred shut".[27] Writing forThe Line of Best Fit, Steven Loftin stated that "Edna isn’t made to be an easy listen, it’s made to be a truthful one" and described how the album is "a portrayal of Headies's world up to this moment, and just what he wants to take forward from the rest of it". He noted that "it’s an evolution, not quite a revolution", concluding his review as he noted that "You can’t expect change to come without the past tagging along, reminding you of what waits if a different hand is dealt that changes your path".[28]Loud and Quiet's Max Pilley began his review by writing that throughout the project, Headie "weaves a tale of self-examination and personal growth, using his own life to assemble a fable that hinges on an individual’s capacity to overcome". Pilley makes it clear that the "echoey production dominates" the project, but "Headie also pushes out beyond the drill boundaries".[29] Writing forNME, Caitlin O'Reily comparesEdna to Headie'ss fourth mixtape,Music x Road, stating that "Edna is its grown-up, lavish cousin". She states that the "album is washed in the melancholy, minor-key trap beats requisite of in-vogue modern hip-hop". Concluding the review, O'Reily notes that the album "is proof that he's the unmistakeable, global "King of drill", and much more besides".[30]
Writing forThe Observer,Kitty Empire noted that the album "travels a significant distance from his previous fast-paced accounts of life on the streets" and that it "is forced into a dance, of sorts, with Adjei's past". Concluding her review, she states that "Headie One gets to flex, collaborate and try new things, while Irving Adjei feels safe enough to show vulnerability".[31]The Times' Will Hodgkinson states that on the album, "[Headie] captures the dull reality of prison life" and "makes drug dealing sound as appealing as root canal work and wonders if things might have been different had his mother".[32]
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clash | Clash Albums Of The Year 2020 | 10 | [33] |
| The Fader | The Best Albums of 2020 | 30 | [34] |
| NME | NME's 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 27 | [35] |
| Noisey | Noisey's 100 Best Albums of 2020 | 4 | [36] |
| The Line of Best Fit | The Line of Best Fit's Best Albums of 2020 Ranked | 49 | [37] |
| Loud and Quiet | The Loud And Quiet best albums of 2020 | 36 | [38] |
| The Quietus | The Quietus Albums Of The Year 2020 | 37 | [39] |
The album debuted at number one on theUK Albums Chart, selling 15,494 copies in its first week[40] and earning a total of 25.5 million on-demand streams of the album's songs during that week.[41] It also charted in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Scotland.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Teach Me" | Irving Adjei | Madara Beatz | 2:30 |
| 2. | "Psalm 35" | Adjei |
| 2:40 |
| 3. | "Bumpy Ride" (featuringM Huncho) |
| Quincytellem | 2:21 |
| 4. | "Triple Science" | Adjei |
| 3:10 |
| 5. | "The Light" | Adjei | 169 | 3:31 |
| 6. | "Ain't It Different" (featuringAJ Tracey andStormzy) |
|
| 3:16 |
| 7. | "Mainstream" | Adjei |
| 2:10 |
| 8. | "Princess Cuts" (featuringYoung T & Bugsey) |
| 3:05 | |
| 9. | "21 Gun Salute" (featuringYoung Adz) |
|
| 3:31 |
| 10. | "Five Figures" | Adjei | 169 | 2:46 |
| 11. | "Hear No Evil" (featuringFuture) |
|
| 4:23 |
| 12. | "Breathing" |
|
| 2:53 |
| 13. | "Only You Freestyle" (withDrake) |
| M1onthebeat | 4:10 |
| 14. | "Try Me" (featuringSkepta) |
| Gottionem | 3:13 |
| 15. | "F U Pay Me" (featuringIvorian Doll andKenny Beats) |
| Kenny Beats | 2:44 |
| 16. | "Parlez-Vous Anglais" (featuringAitch) |
|
| 3:20 |
| 17. | "Everything Nice" (featuring Haile) |
| ADP | 3:40 |
| 18. | "You/Me" (featuringMahalia) |
| Mokuba Lives | 3:17 |
| 19. | "Therapy" |
|
| 2:11 |
| 20. | "Cold" (featuringKaash Paige) |
| WondaGurl | 4:38 |
| Total length: | 63:29 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hung Jury" |
|
| 3:01 |
| 2. | "Bussdown" (featuringRich the Kid) |
| Nyge | 2:24 |
| 3. | "Showed Me" (featuringNorthSideBenji) |
| ADP | 2:52 |
| 4. | "Siberia" (featuringBurna Boy) |
|
| 2:53 |
| 5. | "Level Up" |
| K Tokyo | 3:31 |
| 6. | "Dressing Gown" |
|
| 3:09 |
| 7. | "Zodiac" (featuringRV) |
|
| 3:09 |
| 8. | "Yet" |
| Ghosty | 3:14 |
| Total length: | 87:42 | |||
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[42] | 22 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[43] | 84 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[44] | 86 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[45] | 36 |
| Irish Albums (OCC)[46] | 3 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[47] | 55 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[48] | 1 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC)[49] | 2 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[50] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
