In any underground genre, mainstream acceptance is usually followed by creative inertness or commercial dilution, but Benga isn’t surrendering to either on his awaited debut. For whilst opener ‘Zero M2’ begins with Rhodes licks and Jazz-plucked bass, any fears of coffee-table pretensions are soon devastated by a Jah bass lion that stomps, roars and marauds all over your speakers.

That’s the class of ‘Diary of an Afro Warrior’ all over – Benga has wielded fierce new forms in which to unleash his trademark sub attitude and edgy energy. Just check the sci-fi dread and controlled bass malevolence of ‘The Cut’ or the thugged-out bass skank of ’26 Basslines’ to prove Benga hasn’t lost his badness.

Nor has he let up on the dub. The robo-stomp synths in electro-stepper ‘Go Tell Them’ march with the uprising charge of classic dancehall lead at double pace by an army of 40-feet cyborgs. ‘Crunked Up’, meanwhile, is one serious slab of infectious Croydon digi-dub.

But where Benga really turns a page is on tracks like ‘Pleasure’ and ‘Emotion’, where his intricate, shuffle-stuttered beats sit beneath tripped-out melodies that uncurl into the ethereal unknown, much like a Holden or Fake opus.

A purely instrumental war-cry, ‘Diary of an Afro Warrior’ brings true depth to the darkness and, in do so, proves the dubstep fraternity aren’t giving up their raw edge without a fight.