The title alone tells you something important, as Illaman swaps his stage name out for Dave and the performer steps out from behind the persona. Thanks, I’ve Been Dave is an album of unusual authenticity made by an artist who has no interest in performing for anyone who isn’t already paying attention. A long-standing figure in the UK underground, the album shows Illaman relaxed in his own skin covering ambitious emotional ground across a short runtime.

A hip-hop record about the reality of Illaman’s actual life with graft on a building site, too much weed and difficult battles in his head all delivered with a conversational ease, he’s more concerned with being vicious and authentic than following any standard rhyme structure, as quick rhymes appear and disappear in a delivery that sounds more like someone ranting than performing. With enormous bravado but a relaxed posture, he feels unperformative in a way that’s impossible to fake. One Over Zero’s production throughout is rich and murky with Peep Show a crime-ridden standout with deep textures. Maybe is the album’s biggest highlight, opening with a silly swung triplet rhythm that you might expect from Dirty Dike or Leaf Dog, and then thirty seconds in the entire vibe shifts without warning as a much more insistent beat arrives and Illaman launches into a really intense flow that came out of nowhere. The track alternates between these two modes, and every time the heavier section hits back it’s like being suddenly overwhelmed by too many distracted, dreamlike thoughts at once. There’s a significant grime influence running throughout, and Man on a Mission is a rap rock tune with chunky guitars and a huge shout-along chorus. The title track closes the album with soul samples and as the backing track fades out Illaman keeps going, gradually relaxing down to nothing. 2026 is a great year for UK hip-hop, and Thanks, I’m Dave holds its own with ease.