Dizzee Rascal - Tongue 'N Cheek [Dirtee Stank / Universal]

As announced in many interviews and musically proved with his new album Dizzee Rascal has officially left the Grime and moved on to the next level. Many words have been said and written on this issue by critics and followers alike and there's no sense in discussing whether this step has been made for good or bad but there's one thing for sure. By this decision Dizzee Rascal and his label Dirtee Stank Recordings have come full circle and deliver an album that clearly represents UK soundsystem culture in its entire spectrum, two decades after the so-called hardcore continuum emerged from it. All eleven tracks show off only one specific attitude which is like everything goes as long as it works the crowd, no matter if that's a straight banger like "Money Money", a catchy rip off like "Dirtee Cash" or slower tracks like "Chillin' Wiv Da Man Dem" or "Leisure" that seem to be musically referring to the plastic feel of so-called Black Music of the 80s, especially talking about PhillySoul and similar sounds here. To combine this kind of music, which has been played out on UKs soundsystems back in the days alongside Reggae, Disco and early HipHop, with House and still buzzing Grime-influences on one album, within eleven tracks only shows that this guy has been brought up on nothing but urban music and learned his lesson in history quite well. Die-hard grimeists might dislike this, but whoever wants to learn about urban music from the UK should have a closer look on this one.