In 7 years and 4 albums Dylan Mills a.k.a. Dizzee Rascal has gone from being one of the most respected Grime MC's out there to National Treasure status; winning pludits, critical acclaim and (following 3 successive number 1 singles) commercial acclaim. It's been a totemic rise, one that's even more remarkable when you consider the subject matter of debut offering 'Boy in da Corner'.
A dark gritty album punctuated with gutteral beats and street level wittism, Boy in da Corner was critically lauded- winning the prestigous Mercury Music Prize, but failed to propel Dizzee to commercial success. His follow up, 'Showtime' recieved somewhat mixed reviews. Despite an impressive single in 'Stand Up Tall' it lacked the imagination and dexerity of his debut. More recently 'Maths & English' saw Dizzee dice with arena sized hip-hop beats with mixed success. Though 'Pussyole' and 'Sirens' became veritable anthems, ill judged collaborations with Lily Allen and Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner seemed to sully the record.
As sales dwindled Dizzee was at a cross roads. Rather than retreat into the shadows of the post-UKG pirate radio scene from which he emerged he linked up with Scottish super producer Calvin Harris to record, arguably, 2008's biggest anthem 'Dance Wiv Me'. This record more than any other seems to perfectly encapsulate Dizzee's take on life; fun, carefree and filled with young, attractive women.
Although Dizzee is clearly trying to latch onto traditional saucy British humour (think the Carry On films) Tonuge 'n Cheek often comes across as being riddled with laddish injokes. Lyrically Dizzee sounds not unlike 2 Live Crew of the 69 Boyz for 2009. The album's two dominant themes (as with many/most urban records) are girls and money. But even Dizzee seems unsure of his views on them. Whilst 'Dirty Cash' offers up criticism of post-Credit Crunch greed Dizzee is only too happy to extrol the virtues of "money money money, girls girls, cash cash" on the aptly titled 'Money Money'.
Freaky Freaky sees Dizzee boldly proclaim "I like that kind of girl / You didn't even need to ask her name / Can you believe it? / She was sucking my dick, you should have seen it / Sprayed in her mouth, then watched her kiss her boyfriend." Although sexist bravado is hardly new in the rap game it marks a clear shift in Dizzee's observations of lust when compared to the modern day battle of the sexes that was 'I Luv U'.
Lyrical contradictions aside Tongue 'n Cheek showcases Britain's most successful MC in funloving mode. Monster hits 'Bonkers', and 'Holiday' showcase Dizzee's ear for an anthem whilst 'Chilling wiv da Man Dem' is from the same lineage as his early Jungle pirate radio slots and Maths & English's 'Da Feeling.' Though commerically viable these tracks do seem heavy on the novelty factor with cheesy trance synths and references to Playstation games providing little in the way of substance. Production wise Dizzee also seems to have taken his eye off the ball. Though he claims to be a contender for Pop stardom he fails to make it to the next level- currently occupied by (amongst others) The Neptunes, Will.I.Am and arguably his former collaborater Calvin Harris.
I have no doubt that this album will propell Dizzee to stratospheric commerical success but in my view it lacks the clinical execution of his previous efforts. With fine honing he could become a real contender to the long-term viability of stadium sized producers/artists like Jay-Z and Kanye West but on this offering he lacks both the lyrical wit and artistic vision to achieve such corinthian heights.
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