The track announces itself with an uncompromising thesis: the 9-to-5 grind is a con, and we've all been sold a lie. It's hardly a novel observation, but what elevates "Born2graft" beyond undergraduate posturing is the palpable authenticity in its delivery. These aren't trust-fund anarchists play-acting at revolution from their Shoreditch studios—this is music forged in the real, grinding frustration of working-class Britain, recorded locally at Electric Fields with producer Chris and mastered by Thomas Marshal, maintaining a DIY aesthetic that reinforces rather than undermines its message.

The band cite Riskee and the Ridicules and Rage Against the Machine as influences, and both touchstones are immediately apparent. There's the former's gleeful irreverence and genre-blending audacity married to the latter's righteous fury and funk-metal swagger. But Mukka & the Wizard Sleeves aren't mere tribute merchants. The funky undercurrent that runs through "Born2graft" prevents it from becoming a one-dimensional rage parade, injecting a kinetic energy that makes the medicine go down easier. It's angry, yes, but it's also irresistibly rhythmic—the kind of track that makes you want to dance while dismantling the system.

Mukka, the apparent driving force behind the collective, leads a coalition that includes dingle, Joe, Tamu, Riley, and Huw—a democratic structure that itself mirrors the song's collectivist ethos. The production deliberately eschews polish in favor of raw immediacy. Every guitar crunch, every bass throb, every percussive hit feels present and urgent, as if the band are performing in your front room rather than through the sterile perfection of Pro Tools.

Lyrically, the track takes aim at familiar targets—corporate exploitation, consumer culture, the myth of meritocracy—but does so with enough specificity and bile to avoid cliché. The parenthetical "F*ck That" in the full title tells you everything you need to know about the band's attitude toward compromise. This isn't music designed to soundtrack adverts or climb Spotify's algorithmic ladder; it's a middle finger raised with both hands, delivered with the conviction of people who've actually experienced the soul-crushing monotony they're railing against.

What's particularly refreshing is the song's refusal to wallow in nihilistic despair. Yes, it diagnoses the disease—the cycles of work, debt, and societal expectation that trap millions—but it also dares to imagine alternatives. Purpose over profit. Community over consumption. Self-determined meaning over prescribed success. In an era where much political music settles for identifying problems without proposing solutions, "Born2graft" at least gestures toward a better way of living, even if the specifics remain tantalizingly vague.

The timing of the release feels significant. Dropped in early December 2025, as Britain heads into another winter of discontent, "Born2graft" captures a prevailing mood of exhaustion and frustration with systems that reward the few while grinding down the many. It's the sound of people who've been told to be grateful for scraps finally saying "enough."

Of course, the true test of any political anthem isn't its ideology but its staying power. Does it work as a song, or merely as a manifesto set to music? "Born2graft" passes this crucial test. The band themselves describe it as their preferred opener, and it's easy to see why—it establishes their identity while delivering enough sonic hooks to keep audiences engaged beyond the first verse.

Mukka & the Wizard Sleeves have announced themselves with considerable force. "Born2graft" is rough around the edges, occasionally crude, and utterly uncompromising—which is precisely what makes it vital. In a musical landscape increasingly dominated by algorithm-friendly blandness, here's a band willing to risk alienating half their potential audience in service of saying something they actually believe. That's not just refreshing—it's practically revolutionary.