DIZZEE RASCAL – SHOWTIME (XL)
September 14th, 2004 by duck
So, the Mercury winning ‘Boy In Da Corner’ is back. And from the opening – “this journey starts six years ago/in a rundown housing estate in Bow” – it’s clear that ‘Showtime’ sees Dizzee stepping up a gear without entirely leaving his past work behind.
Although the production values are higher, the feeling that this music is the sound of the city persists. The images that spring to mind are of teenagers out on the street in the pouring rain, of speeding cars on dark city trunk roads, of the “grime” of city living. The droning basslines and delicately arranged but frantic beats create a disorientating and paranoia inducing effect, which is hardly dispelled by Dizzee’s often aggressive and always hyper delivery. If all this makes it sound like ‘Showtime’ can be a difficult listen, then I’m certainly doing it justice.
This isn’t a coffee table album, it isn’t for playing at dinner parties, and OK, maybe you don’t care what some kid from East London has to say. Maybe this record doesn’t matter. Except for a couple of things.
Firstly, our boy Dylan is one of the greatest rappers the UK has ever produced. His delivery remains entirely unique. Coming on like a lunatic east end ‘Ol Dirty Bastard, he manages to sound 100% UK whilst conveying the self-confidence-regardless-of-all-else ethic that resides at the heart of hip-hop. And his lyrics match the delivery. In an echo of the “I’m a problem for Anthony Blair” line from his debut, ‘Respect’ runs:
“Endless speculation I’m facing/ constant controversial relation/ to gun crime at garage events/
so many claims/ and no evidence/ suggesting I’m the reason/ for the UK gun clap season”
before appealing:
“Got a few mates that have been convicted/ yeah so what it’s the hand life dealt them/
we weren’t blessed with the systems TLC/ Government should have tried to help them”
and it’s this kind of dialogue; with his audience, with the media and with the world at large that makes the record.
For every piece of ‘gangster’ posturing – the frankly slightly humorous “You people are gonna respect me if it kills you” for example or “Too many man talk nuff blah blah, talk like Dizzee ain’t got a temper” – there’s a piece of social conscience that tries to offer advice.
The beautifully melancholy ‘Get By’ suggests:
“to my bredrens locked up/ to my young baby mothers
every creed and colour/ ghetto sisters and brothers
if you know you’re from the slums/keep reppin’ no doubt
stay ghetto if you must/ just remember to get out”
One track that’s definitely going to divide opinion is ‘Dream’ which is based around a nagging sample of Captain Sensible’s ‘Happy Talk’, but here again Dizzee is on full on positivity mode, advising:
“To the superstar sucklings/ Beckham in the makings
You can go far/ If you put your mind to it
You’re a star/ don’t wait to be told
Just do it”
‘Dream’ also features our self styled “Dylan the Villain from around the way” at his sweetest, as after delivering the line “Made an album, over a hundred thousand people bought it” he pauses before concluding with a very meek but very genuine sounding “thank you”.
‘Showtime’ isn’t perfect. It’s slightly too long – some ideas and themes are stretched over a couple of songs when one would do. And at fifteen tracks you’d best believe that the often bleak subject matter and disorientating beats can get a bit too much – the very things that make the album special can start to cause a little aural fatigue. But hey, this isn’t supposed to be Belle and Sebastian. This record sounds exactly like the place it came from, and the lyrics are delivered with that all important swagger, over beats that seem to have invented a whole new kind of funky.
There are plenty who probably won’t dig this record because it deals with some really negative emotions, because it’s almost relentlessly dark and hard, or because they simply can’t relate the lifestyle being described with their life, or their hometown.
Which is a shame, because musically and lyrically this is a stunning representation of life from an MC who hasn’t had too many breaks, but was blessed with talent enough to make up for it, and importantly still cares about the life he’s left behind. Whilst the UK might not be the worst place to grow up in the world, ‘Showtime’ is often about our “rich getting richer – poor getting poorer” culture. It’s easy to think “nobody in the UK is that badly off” but there are places in this country where people don’t have enough, where there are, as ‘Get By’ alludes, “real life kiddies/ with real life guns/ and real life mothers/ lose real life sons”
This music is difficult and angry for a reason, like punk once was and like hip hop once was. And judging by the thank you list, US uber-producers the Neptunes have already started taking notes.
Duck
Dizzee Rascal’s Showtime is out now on XL Recordings
