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
Released	24 January 2020
Recorded	2017–2019
Genre	Afroswing[1]
Length	44:05
Label	Black 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
"Must Be" Released: 10 November 2019 "No Denying" Released: 27 December 2019 "Repeat" Released: 23 January 2020 "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
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.1/10[4]
Metacritic	86/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Financial Times	[7]
The Guardian	[8]
The Independent	[9]
The Line of Best Fit	9/10[10]
NME	[1]
The Observer	[11]
Pitchfork	8.0/10[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.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Big Conspiracy" (featuring iceè tgm)	Momodou Jallow TSB	TSB	3:39
2.	"Helicopter" (featuring iceè tgm)	Jallow TSB	TSB	2:34
3.	"Fight for Your Right"	Jallow Ikeoluwa Oladigbolu	IO	3:17
4.	"Triumph"	Jallow Jonathan Mensah	Jae5	2:50
5.	"Play Play" (featuring Burna Boy)	Jallow Damini Ogulu Nana Rogues Mike Orabiyi Riley	Jae5 Nana Rogues Scribz Riley	3:26
6.	"Cucumber"	Jallow Mensah Rogues	IO Jae5 Nana Rogues	2:41
7.	"Repeat" (featuring Koffee)	Jallow Mensah Mikayla Simpson	Jae5	2:33
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	TSB	3:48
11.	"Must Be"	Jallow Mensah	Jae5	3:28
12.	"One and Only" (featuring Ella Mai)	Jallow Mensah Ella Mai	Jae5	3:29
13.	"Love, Peace and Prosperity"	Jallow Mensah	Jae5	3:14
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	Certification	Certified 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.