Sorry this is late, guys. I have been burning the midnight oil at my other two jobs and have found little time to write.
I had wanted to promote this album a little because 1) I think it’s fantastic and 2) How many British hip hop artists (REAL hip hop artists) can you think of? I can name…Dizzee. And, um, Ms. Dynamite. So Solid Crew? The Streets if you’re really stretching the definition of hip hop. And that’s it. Sure, there are more, but those are really the only ones to have made it Stateside, and even their success has been at best, a modest fawning of indie rock critics and play on alty radio stations. Brits aren’t really known for the drugs-and-guns culture that produces hip hop, though I can tell you for a fact that it exists. In fact, knowing what I know about the grittier sides of London and Scotland’s cities, I’m surprised there isn’t more hip hop from Britain. Scotland: The most murderous place in Europe! True story!
Oh, and don’t mistake me. I’m not saying the correlation between hip hop and violence is hip hop music causes violence. I’m saying the correlation is more like violent neighborhoods will spark outcries for justice by any means necessary, and because hip hop is a pervasive outlet for America’s urban ghettos, it wouldn’t be too illogical to say that Britain’s urban ghettos might follow suit with the music that gets created. Not so, of course, and there are a lot more socio-economic factors at work here than I care to discuss. Dizzee Rascal is one of the exceptions, and his life story reads similarly to that of most American hip hop artists, having grown up in a gritty East London neighborhood on council estates (the equivalent of the projects in America); he was involved with petty violence as a teenager before being “saved” by music and having his frustrations about the poverty and violence he faced as a young person explode in fascinating hip hop tracks.
Maths + English, which was released last year in the UK and finally got its US release a week ago, represents a departure for Dizzee. Every single track on the album could be played on American hip hop radio and fit right in, aside from Dizzee’s thick London accent. Previously, he experimented with blip hop, hip hop over computer-generated noises that sounded a lot like what comes out of a Playstation (there were erroneous rumors he recorded Boy in Da Corner, his first major release, on a Playstation) and his first efforts could be lumped in quite nicely with The Streets and other UK Garage and grime outfits (I have to call it UK Garage, meaning the hip hop-influenced genre of music that sprung from Britain’s late 90s house music explosion, rather than just garage, which for me, refers to early 1980s rock from New York City).
Maths + English still has Dizzee’s signature awesome blip hop beats, as in “Flex,” which, if I may influence any Seattle-area DJs, would sound bangin’ on the dancefloor with the bass turned up:
But he’s evolved to incorporated some really rockin’ guitars, straight synth beats and some old school drum machines and breakbeats (along with the requisite sirens) as in “Sirens”:
There’s no denying that track has finesse and flair in its production, has something to say both lyrically and musically, and is pretty confident and comfortable with itself.
“G.H.E.T.T.O” follows the format of other hip hop artists bragging how hardened they are and how hardened you are not, and how close to the streets they still are:
I’m G.H.E.T.T.O
Please don’t act like you don’t know
I stay called up when I roll,
I’m a lot of things but I’m not slow
I’m G.H.E.T.T.O
Hot and still my heart is cold,
I’ve been known to lose control
Cause problems everywhere I go.
So, alright, no new and innovative themes here; but my point is that Dizzee is making hip hop that isn’t distinctly in a category of British music anymore (i.e. UK Garage or grime), and he is doing it with an agility as an MC and producer that isn’t seen much anymore.
The album isn’t merely brilliant for what I think is an ability to “fit in” to some Americanized radio-friendly hip hop while still retaining its individuality. No, there are new and exciting things happening in many of the tracks. “Temptation” features Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys, and his vocals surprisingly lend a sense of gravity and seriousness over Dizzee’s furiously speedy spitting of the lyrics. Perhaps what is most surprising about this album is Dizzee’s lyrical agility. Personally, I’d like to see him and Twista get into a battle. I’m not sure who’d come out on top. “Excuse Me Please” is political and lyrically astute, about life in the London ghetto. It’s not a very cohesive album, but there is some amazing, innovative stuff here.
Finally, I want to give a wee mention to “Wanna Be,” the track that features Lily Allen. I can’t honestly decide if this track is brilliant or annoying. Allen’s voice kind of grates on my nerves anyway, but she is kind of cute here, except I’m not sure “cute” is what Dizzee should be going for. Except it’s fun. But annoying! Oh, I don’t know. Critics were similarly split with about half the reviews I read picking it as their favorite track and one reviewer describing it as “the worst assault on my ears in 2007.” I’ve listened to it like 6 times since I bought the album, so there must be something there, but I have to admit I sort of listen to it the way I listen to a track from Fergie Ferg, because it’s kind of a tranwreck. Here it is, decided for yourself:
Read the Pitchfork review of the album.
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