Dizzee Rascal - 'Maths + English' (XL) Released 04/06/07

As one of the UK’s premier emcees, Dizzee Rascal is an artist who each time he makes a move all eyes are firmly fixed on him. Whether he’s out picking up a pint of milk or spitting some serious bars over a knocking beat, he’s the man when it comes to the UK hip-hop. And before you hip-hop purists get up on your high horse and start listing reasons as to why the Mercury Music Prize winner isn’t actually hip-hop, take one listen to ‘Maths + English’ and then rethink your strategy.
 
For as long as he’s been in the game Dizzee has always been an artist prepared to experiment with other musical genres. His previous two offerings (‘Boy in Da Corner’ and ‘Showtime’) incorporated the grime.phpect of UK street music with generous helpings of traditional rap acting as the icing on the cake. This particular outing however hears the LDN emcee take a one way trip in to some seriously deep hip-hop waters. The only track that remotely steps away from this point is the drum & bass-inspired ‘Da Feelin’’.

Thanks to its overpowering drum riff and random sprinkling of rock guitar samples, ‘Sirens’ is the perfect choice as the album’s first single. Dizzee’s ability to switch up his lyrical flow at the drop of a hat, combined with his unique-sounding voice draws listeners of all genres in and mentally puts them in a dark alleyway somewhere in London. ‘Excuse Me Please’ features a slice of production mirroring the kind of old skool beat that someone like the Geto Boys might have used back in the early nineties. Rhyming at a steady pace, Dizzee still manages to tear the beat apart like a tiger does its prey.

Not falling at too many hurdles, the only error on Dizzee’s behalf comes when the inclusion of the bubblegum pop-sounding ‘Flex’ feeds itself through the speaker. Even the catchy, Lily Allen-assisted ‘Wanna Be’ sits nicely with those prepared to give it a shot. Minimally tweaking the hook (taken from the Bugsy Malone song ‘So You Wanna Be a Boxer’?’), Lily and Dizzee embark on a journey that involves taking the piss out of the mummy’s boy, chav, wannabe gansgstas that seem to drown our society these days. The line, “What you know about being a hard man? Your mum buys your bling,” makes the record worthwhile all by itself.

‘Maths + English’ is an aggressive yet commercially appealing record that will no doubt be embraced by every man and his dog. Not one to mess around when it comes to putting together a quality project, the wait was without question well worth it. Dizzee Rascal is back in the driver’s seat, and if his new album was a car he’d easily beat Jeremy Clarkson in a race.