Of all the things to name a grime and Afrobeats crossover after, a succulent plant you rub on sunburn was probably not top of anyone’s list.
But that’s exactly where Skepta and Asake landed with “Aloe Vera,” and the title turns out to be doing real work. The song leans on the plant as a metaphor for healing and keeping your cool when the pressure is on.
The track is one of the highlights from Skepta’s The Fork and Knife project. It came out through Big Smoke Records under exclusive licence to Epic Records.
For anyone tracking the back and forth between London and Lagos over the past few years, it fits right into that story.
Skepta needs little introduction on either side of that route. The Tottenham MC helped carry grime from pirate radio to the mainstream and won the Mercury Prize in 2016 with Konnichiwa.
He has also never been shy about his Nigerian roots, which makes a link up with one of Lagos’ biggest current voices feel less like a marketing exercise and more like a homecoming.
Asake, meanwhile, has had one of the quickest rises in recent Afrobeats memory. His 2022 debut album Mr. Money with the Vibe made him a household name, and he followed it with Work of Art in 2023 and Lungu Boy in 2024.
His sound, built on choir style backing vocals and street pop energy, has become instantly recognisable.
The production comes from Lex Luger, Vanko and FRANKIE XY. Luger’s name will ring bells for rap fans who remember the hard, booming trap beats he built for Waka Flocka Flame and Rick Ross in the early 2010s.
Here the foundation is heavy 808s and crisp drum programming, with log drum touches and acoustic melodies adding a West African tint.
That split shows up in how the two artists share the record. Skepta takes the verses with his usual measured, precise delivery, keeping the story grounded. Asake handles the lift, bringing those layered Afro fusion harmonies to a chorus built to stick.
Lyrically, the song circles resilience, soothing stress, success and protecting yourself. That gives it more weight than the typical cross border collab, which often settles for a catchy hook and two big names on the cover.
Some listeners will hear it as a mature statement from two artists who have already proved themselves and are now thinking about staying well.
Others may still approach it with some caution. Transatlantic and cross continental team ups have a mixed history, and plenty of them end up feeling like two separate songs stitched together.
The question with “Aloe Vera” is whether the trap heavy backbone leaves Asake enough room to breathe, or whether his melodies end up decorating a beat built for someone else.
What it does have is a clear pitch to audiences in both cities and well beyond. With The Fork and Knife now out in the world, all eyes are on how far this one travels, and whether the two will take it to a stage together.
