- See all the Ratings
- Add my Rating now
- CD
(XL Recordings)
Brash, Cockney and sounding more British than an episode of the bill Dizzee Rascal’s voice grabs your attention as it bursts through the speakers on his debut long player.
Described by some in the know (or at least in the media) as the future of UK Hip Hop I was interested to hear what would be served up, what you get is a sparse background of beats tailored to showcase the star of the show in Dizzee’s unique voice and rapid fire flow. As mentioned the production here is quite sparse as minimal drums and deep bass are favoured, minimal beats tend to be a trend with Hip Hop out if the UK but here is probably as sparse as I have heard and it does work but my only quibble with the album is at times I would have liked just a bit more oomph behind the flow.
Now onto that flow, here is probably as strong a British accent as you will hear on wax and initially I was put off however once you give it a proper listen it really works. Early tracks feature a chanting style of rhyme with whole verses on tracks like Stop Dat rhyming together as he goes over subject matter quickly and returns to the hook. A personal favourite of the first half of the album would be I Luv U as Dizzee and a female MC vibe of each other with tales of being stalked by the opposite sex with the chorus featuring an almost mimicking tone. Also featuring is the Triple J favourite Fix up Look Sharp with an almost electroclash baseline and rock soundind hook provided for some fast paced rhymes that many would already be nodding there head in approval of. As the album closes out we have the wicked flow of Wot U On & Jezebel the former asking where people get their ideals and views of themselves while the latter is an ode to the local town sure bet. The album closes with what I consider its strongest track as the production of Do It is given a few more layers, proving that his unique voice will work over something more complex equally as well if not better.
Overall it is an excellent first album and his unique voice provides a whole different element to his sounds. If this is the future of British Hip Hop I believe it is in safe hands and perhaps with a little more production work the whole world will be feeling the Dizzee Rascal cockney flow.
