Three and a half years since his incendiary debut Who Needs Actions When You’ve Got Words brought the brutal complexities of London street life to the fore, Ben Drew is back with The Defamation Of Strickland Banks, a second installment of grittiness from the Plan B school of hard knocks. But this time around he’s left the knife-wielding ASBO kids behind and produced a hard-hitting conceptual soul LP.

“The Defamation… revolves around a famous singer who is wrongly convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, and how life in the judicial system changes him,” explains its 26-year-old creator. “This is a story about injustice and how statistics can shape politics to the point that someone needs to be made an example of – and what better way to do that than with a popular celebrity. Obviously, it’s a drastic change for me, but you can’t slag off the power of Motown songs. I thought if I did a concept album about a fictional character it would be the best way for me to be creative with a sound that I love, and also stay authentic to who I am.”

Drawing inspiration from Smokey Robinson, Amy Winehouse, and Pilooski’s remix of Frankie Valli’s “Beggin”, The Defamation of Strickland Banks confirms what his debut LP hinted at – that Drew is one of Britain’s most talented young soul singers. With help from producer Paul Epworth, he recently repeated the Top 10 success of “End Credits”, his collaboration with drum’n’bass duo Chase & Status, with “Stay Too Long”, the first single off the album. And, while his rap verses are still as frenzied as ever, Drew is worried that some fans won’t get his new soulful direction.

“There’s a lot less of me rapping on this album. I can only do what my heart’s telling me to do and people are going to hear that. There may be some Plan B purists who will say, ‘Oh, he’s changed too much,’ but if they actually sit down and listen to songs like ‘Hard Times’ and ‘Stay Too Long’, they can’t fucking deny it. This is a side of me that’s been there since I was 15; it’s just that I am letting the public see it for the first time. I’m not jumping on a pop bandwagon, I sang like this before I could rap. But one thing I do know is that motherfuckers will have their jaws on the floor when they hear that this album is by Plan B!”

It appears that the Forest Gate kid who shocked the public back in 2006 with the line “I’ll stab you in the eye, yo / With a fucking biro / The same fucking biro you just used to sign your giro / You fucking wino” has learnt a new way to channel his fury.

“I’ve realised what my issues are. I’ve had anger management for a year because I kept on getting arrested. Some people still think I’m an angry little estate kid who wants to get people’s attention by saying really nasty horrible things, but I’m not that and I want people to know that I’m not that. I don’t want to be like Guy Ritchie who makes the same thing twice. I’m a director but I’m choosing to do my films through music – a film for the blind. Just close your eyes and listen to the story.”

Amped up by his recent film roles in Harry Brown and Adulthood, Drew intends on making the Strickland Banks story into a movie. But until sufficient funding comes along, he’s concentrating on creating a fully immersive live experience. He must be serious – he’s ditched his beloved hoodie in favour of a three-piece suit.

“Strickland Banks is obsessed with the 60s and dresses like he’s a Motown star. If I came on stage wearing a hood it would confuse people, so I am going to get suited and booted. Every motherfucker in my band is going to be wearing trilbies. This is a film, man. It’s all entertainment. It’s allowing me to have some fun. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to rap for as long as I can rap. I’m going to rap until someone goes, ‘Oi! Mate, give it a rest, you look like a cunt, stop it.’ But singing soul just feels the right thing to do now. This is who I am.”

The Defamation of Strickland Banks is out in March.

© TIM NOAKES 2010