Developing finely drawn characters and scenes that are as distinct on the album as they are in the film Ill Manors, the album acts as narration for the film, exemplified in the eerie track, “I Am The Narrator,” with its combination of cartoon-ish orchestrals and chilling vocals. Drew’s whole point is this situation cannot change without individuals living within society having a better understanding of what is happening outside of conventional society.

“It’s an environment where they’re told they’re never going to amount to anything by society,” says Drew. “It’s what their parents are told and their parents’ parents are told. Kids born into that environment, the only money coming into their house is through drugs or crime. Something has been broken inside of them from childhood. The film is trying to show the world that exact thing by saying, ‘Before you judge these kids, look at what has created them. Look at their social start. It’s created the environment they live in and ultimately, created them’.”

Drew’s ability to switch from hard-hitting rapper to soft-voiced soul singer lends itself handily to Manors’ messages. The album was recorded after the film was made. Matching its tone to that of the film, some of the images it generates can be more brutal than the film. Case in point, “Pity The Plight (featuring John Cooper Clarke)” whose graphic story, centered around a young kid and drugs, begs to be skipped over if its composition wasn’t so good.

“I want this film to educate people,” says Drew. “The media is why people behave the way they do. We’re talking about kids that don’t have anyone raising them. I’m saying can’t we come together as a society and raise these kids ourselves? Take responsibility? That’s the message I’m trying to get through.”