When I first got hooked on grime, it all started with Dizzee Rascal. Yes that’s his name, and yes it is ridiculous. Dizzee is likely the most popular grime artist, and his first album, Boy in da Corner, is probably most representative of a new genre, it it truly is one. I started listening to Dizzee right before the relase of his second album, Showtime, and loved how unique/different his sound was. He has now released a third album, Maths + English, and in the process of releasing a fourth.
I spent many days in high school trying to convince friends that his sound wasn’t too weird, and swore he’d make it big in the US. My junior year of high school he toured the US and I went to my first concert at Cat’s Cradle to go see him. I’ve been to see him one other time, last year at the 9:30 club, when he toured with El-P. Because his music has evolved over the course of each album, I’m solely going to address Boy in da Corner today. In a way of shocking you into his music, I’ll throw his most “out there” song at you first. I’m in NYC for the week, so sadly I’m still deprived of a harddrive and any way to upload audio – so I’ve inserted YouTube clips of the tracks for this post.
Dizzee Rascal – “Stop Dat”
With Dizzee, I can truly say that I may comprehend like 25% of the words – but the overall sound of the tracks is what get me. It’s a form of organized chaos that is full of energy, and though his lyrics might be difficult to understand – the voice and tempo at which he spits adds another dynamic to the tracks.
Dizzee Rascal – “Jezebel”
This track off of Boy in da Corner as well, is much easier to understand lyrically and reveals that he really does have skill (and in this case – the ability to storytell).
The last two tracks off of Boy in da Corner I will post were released as singles, so they have legitimiate music videos to accompany them.
Dizzee Rascal – “Fix Up, Look Sharp”
Probably the most popular Dizzee Rascal track, “Fix Up, Look Sharp” was the very first track I heard from Dizzee. It was featured on an MTV Advanced Warning show and the beat can sometimes be heard cut into shows like Cribs. I’ve always been particularly fond of the line, “I’ll probably be doin’ this, probably forever, fellows want to stop me, they’ll probably come together, it’s probable they’ll stop me, probably never.” Any fans of Ratatat’s remix CD’s will likely recognize this song as well.
Dizzee Rascal – “Jus’ A Rascal”
I see “Jus A Rascal” has having the most crossover appeal of any of the tracks from Boy in da Corner. The beat isn’t has heavily influenced by dancehall, and the words don’t have such a heavy cockney accent that you can’t understand them. He uses a similar type of wordplay from “Fix Up, Look Sharp” instead of the word probably he uses definitely. If you’re open to slightly different sound, I really encourage checking out the whole album, its one of my all-time favorites.
Posted by the Groove
