Big Conspiracy

Big Conspiracy is the second studio album by British rapper J Hus. It was released on 24 January 2020 by Black Butter Records/Sony Music UK for streaming and digital download. The album features production from frequent collaborator Jae5, alongside IO, TSB and Nana Rogues, plus guest appearances from Iceè TGM, Koffee, Burna Boy and Ella Mai. It follows the 2017 debut album, Common Sense, and the 2018 EP Big Spang.

Big Conspiracy
Studio album by
J Hus
Released24 January 2020
Recorded2017–2019
GenreAfroswing[1]
Length44:05
LabelBlack Butter
Producer
  • Jae5
  • IO
  • Levi Lennox
  • Maestro
  • Nana Rogues
  • Scribz Riley
  • Sunny Kale
  • TSB
J Hus chronology
Common Sense
(2017)		 Big Conspiracy
(2020)		 Beautiful and Brutal Yard
(2023)
Singles from Big Conspiracy
  1. "Must Be"
    Released: 10 November 2019
  2. "No Denying"
    Released: 27 December 2019
  3. "Repeat"
    Released: 23 January 2020
  4. "Play Play"
    Released: 23 January 2020

Two singles were released to promote the album: "Must Be" and "No Denying", both charting in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. The album debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, becoming J Hus' first UK number-one album.[2] It also charted in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway and Sweden. Big Conspiracy received widespread acclaim from critics and was nominated for the Brit Award for British Album of the Year in 2021.

Background

The album was officially announced by J Hus the day before release via social media, following several tracks being leaked online earlier in the week.[3]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.1/10[4]
Metacritic86/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Financial Times[7]
The Guardian[8]
The Independent[9]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[10]
NME[1]
The Observer[11]
Pitchfork8.0/10[12]
Q[13]
The Times[14]

Big Conspiracy received widespread acclaim from critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Big Conspiracy received a weighted average score of 86, based on ten reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[5]

Granting a perfect score, Dhruva Balram of NME praised the "excellent, career-defining production" and J Hus' "range and gift for incorporating multiple genres within one album", concluding it is a "career-defining collection".[1] For The Line of Best Fit, William Rosebury wrote that Big Conspiracy "certifies J Hus as one of the most influential artists in UK music. With the expansion and growth of UK music over the past decade, many people have attempted to define what exactly UK rap or ‘underground’ music is. The truth is that it's completely undefinable – it's grime, afrobeat, soul, drill, dancehall, hip-hop, R&B, garage, jungle – it's all of them, and none of them. J Hus embodies this melting pot of sounds, and with Big Conspiracy he delivers an album that once again blazes a trail for everyone else to follow."[10]

Track listing
Big Conspiracy track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Big Conspiracy" (featuring iceè tgm)
TSB3:39
2."Helicopter" (featuring iceè tgm)
  • Jallow
  • TSB
TSB2:34
3."Fight for Your Right"
  • Jallow
  • Ikeoluwa Oladigbolu
IO3:17
4."Triumph"
  • Jallow
  • Jonathan Mensah
Jae52:50
5."Play Play" (featuring Burna Boy)
  • Jae5
  • Nana Rogues
  • Scribz Riley
3:26
6."Cucumber"
  • Jallow
  • Mensah
  • Rogues
  • IO
  • Jae5
  • Nana Rogues
2:41
7."Repeat" (featuring Koffee)
Jae52:33
8."Fortune Teller"
  • Jallow
  • Oladigbolu
  • Levi Lennox
  • IO
  • Jae5
  • Levi Lennox
  • Maestro
2:35
9."Reckless"
  • Jallow
  • Sunny Kale
  • TSB
  • Sunny Kale
  • TSB
2:28
10."No Denying"
  • Jallow
  • TSB
TSB3:48
11."Must Be"
  • Jallow
  • Mensah
Jae53:28
12."One and Only" (featuring Ella Mai)
Jae53:29
13."Love, Peace and Prosperity"
  • Jallow
  • Mensah
Jae53:14
14."Deeper Than Rap"
  • Jallow
  • Oladigbolu
  • Mensah
  • IO
  • Jae5
4:06
Total length:44:05

Notes

  • The album's tracklist was updated on 4 February 2020 to include the song "One and Only".

Charts

Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for Big Conspiracy
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 83
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[16] 92
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 31
Irish Albums (OCC)[18] 5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[19] 32
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 30
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 1

Year-end charts
Year-end chart performance for Big Conspiracy
Chart (2020) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 32

Certifications
Certifiations for Big Conspiracy
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Gold 100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Balram, Dhruva (24 January 2020). "J Hus – 'Big Conspiracy' review: soulful British rapper barely puts a foot wrong on introspective second album". NME. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  2. Copsey, Rob (31 January 2020). "J Hus's Big Conspiracy debuts at Number 1 on the Official UK Albums Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  3. "J Hus will release his new album tomorrow". Crack Magazine. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  4. "Big Conspiracy by J Hus reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  5. "Big Conspiracy by J Hus Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  6. Simpson, Paul. "Big Conspiracy – J Hus". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  7. Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (24 January 2020). "J Hus: Big Conspiracy — a measured embrace of notoriety". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  8. Petridis, Alexis (23 January 2020). "J Hus – Big Conspiracy review: British rap star lights up his own lane". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  9. O'Connor, Roisin (5 February 2020). "J Hus review, Big Conspiracy: Rapper is weathered by experience but still playful on this seamless album". The Independent. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  10. Rosebury, William (27 January 2020). "J Hus is blazing a trail for everyone else to follow". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  11. Empire, Kitty (2 February 2020). "J Hus: Big Conspiracy review – reflective but still reckless". The Observer. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  12. Pearce, Sheldon (29 January 2020). "J Hus: Big Conspiracy Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  13. Aroesti, Rachel (April 2020). "A League of His Own". Q. No. 409. p. 107.
  14. Hodgkinson, Will (31 January 2020). "J Hus: Big Conspiracy review — London rapper comes of age". The Times. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  15. "Ultratop.be – J Hus – Big Conspiracy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  16. "J Hus Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  17. "Dutchcharts.nl – J Hus – Big Conspiracy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  18. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  19. "Norwegiancharts.com – J Hus – Big Conspiracy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  20. "Swedishcharts.com – J Hus – Big Conspiracy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  21. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  22. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  23. "British album certifications – J Hus – Big Conspiracy". British Phonographic Industry.
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