'The Defamation Of Strickland Banks' is the second studio album from rapper Plan B. Following the well received 'Who Needs Actions When You Got Words' Plan B moves away from the distinctive acoustic rap approach that defined his debut, to a soulful sound littered with strings, horns and showcasing Ben Drew's untapped vocal ability. The album follows a story of character "Strickland Banks" who is convicted wrongly for an unspecified crime and is played by Drew in the videos for singles 'Stay Too Long' and 'She Said'.

Feb 2010

The first new studio album from the East End wordsmith Ben Drew (AKA - Plan B) since his incredible debut 'Who Needs Actions When You Got Words' back in 2006.

'The Defamation of Strickland Banks', demonstrates an about-turn as complete as any in music. There are rock guitars, strings, gospel backing vocals and Drew's soulful falsetto singing voice.

Drew describes one number, 'Love Goes Down', as "a classic Motown love song", and though the heavy funk of 'Stay Too Long' maintains something of an edge, the smooth ballad Hard Times aims for Marvin Gaye territory and strays dangerously close to Lenny Kravitz.

It's as radio-friendly as its predecessor was horrifying — a transformation that Drew justifies by saying that in both instances he was "playing a role". "I talk morbid just to make you feel awkward/Death's a part of life, yo, you just can't ignore it."

On the new album he is acting, too, playing Strickland Banks, a soul singer wrongly convicted of a crime Drew won't specify just yet.

He has worked hard on the concept and is planning to write, direct and star in a short film to accompany the music, though he's non-committal about whether this will actually get finished. "The record is the most important thing," he says. But there's more. It transpires that Drew has covered his Strickland Banks story in hip-hop form as well, on a second rap album that has been shelved for the time being in favour of the new soul direction.

"That's the one that delves into the darkness and complexity of what's happening to him, with lyrics that will shock you."

• Billboard - "[O]n his latest album, THE DEFAMATION OF STRICKLAND BANKS, Drew cleverly reinvents Plan B as a big-city retro-soul singer..."