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Amazon.co.uk Review
At times it lives up to the extravagant praise many have already bestowed upon it. "I Luv U", the nagging single, is brilliantly conceived--boy and girl talking about one another without hearing, a perfect encapsulation of how disconnection is the norm, even if you've got two mobiles, a pager and an e-mail address. "Fix Up, Look Sharp", sampled from Billy Squier's 1980 rock classic "Big Beat", is as near as the record comes to straightforward rap, its joyous flavour provides a much needed moment of uplift to what is an often brilliant but densely oppressive album. --Angus Batey
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best of the year,
By
This review is from: Boy In Da Corner (Audio CD)
Anytime an album like ‘Boy In Da Corner’ arrives it seems to cause no end of consternation amongst the music press. Always happy to pigeonhole artists for the sake of marketing, hacks seem to struggle when credible UK ‘urban’ music arrives. It happened with The Streets and now Dizzee Rascal looks set to suffer the same ‘Garage’ tag. Make no mistake; this is no garage album (whatever that means anyway). Like Mike Skinner before him, 18-year-old Dylan Mills has taken the basics of a genre that is currently laying face down in the water and transformed it into something far, far more intriguing. Where Skinner took games of darts and the midnight munchies as his inspiration so Mills takes estate violence and teenage pregnancies as his.This is a far darker proposition than ‘Original Pirate Material’ though. Dizzee sees himself as an outsider; the opening track makes this abundantly clear. On the opening line of the opening track, ‘Sittin Here’ Dizzee tells us, “I’m sitting here, I ain’t saying much, I just think / and my eyes don’t move left or right, they just blink.” For 18 years, Mills sounds remarkably mature, and sounds almost like an elder statesman of the streets when he whispers memories of playing football in the streets, before he yields to the feeling that there will be, “no positive change.” This feeling of hopelessness rears its ugly head again on ‘Brand New Day’. Over a dizzying wind chime sample, Dizzee reminisces, “We used to fight with kids from other estates / now eight millimetres settle debates.” Though just shy of an hour in length, Dizzee manages to cram in a huge assortment of topics. Besides the tales of catching and delivering beatings, the inflammatory single ‘I Luv U’ is a breathtaking synopsis of a young couples and teenage pregnancies (“Fifteen? She's underage!). This theme is revisited on ‘Round We Go’ – a tale of an endless cycle of loveless sex told by a narrator who has learned his lesson. Elsewhere ‘Fix Up, Look Sharp’ with its pounding drum, Billy Squier sample and eardrum-destroying bassline is an immense proposition. Dizzee sounds almost demented as he spits the lyrics. It isn’t the only track that defies sonic definition. ‘Jus A Rascal’ has the most bizarre operatic chorus ever heard, which is totally at odds with the light speed rhymes Dizzee spits on the verses. Apologies for the seemingly constant Streets comparisons, but ‘Original Pirate Material’ and ‘Boy In Da Corner’ share the fact that they are the two best albums to come out of the UK in a long, long time. With ‘Boy In Da Corner’, Dizzee Rascal has joint the likes of The Streets and Roots Manuva as urban British artists with something interesting to say, besides American hip hop cliché. So what is it? Garage? Hip Hop? Whatever genre you choose to pigeonhole this album in, I’ll choose to call it one of the best albums of the year.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Live O!!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Boy In Da Corner (Audio CD)
When I first heard the name Dizzee Rascal, i believed it would be the name of a musical disaster! After hearing 'I Luv U' almost a year ago, I was completely blown away.On his debut LP, Dizzee Rascal 'spits' his hard,and raw lyrics over standard uk garage beats, and the mixture fits together well. His style is very unique, as i have never heard anyone use a squeaky teenage voice to describe such real to life situations. "If that girl know where u stay that's poor/Some wh**e bangin on your door, wot for?/Pregnant? Wot you talkin bout? Be sure/ 15 she's underage that's raw!" -I Luv U Boy In Da Corner, from start to finish, is a great example of how the British music industry is evolving. the only question left is, how is Dizzee Rascal going to top this nex time round?
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FRESH!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Boy In Da Corner (Audio CD)
As a huge garage lover since about 1995 I've seen the scene change forbetter and worse. This change to a so called 'grimey garage'had thepotential to kill off what was fast becoming a commercial scene. As alover of hip hop as well I've found parallels between the two scenes andthat parallel is Dizzee Rascal. It's not hip hop and not garage but thegreat thing about garage is it's not a genre it's sub sections inside agenre best summed up by Wiley in his track 'what do u call it'. This albumis fantastic, sometimes very simple but creative and I think a lot ofAmercians have started to over complicate their music and their lyricshave become predictable as in they're from the ghetto etc. We know thatbut what dizzee does here is not tell people of his background but roleplays with situations that make you realise where he's from. I was bornand lived in the East End (Bow) and this sound is the London sound, the UKsound that is unique. Dizzee's work shows flair and genius, his word playand beats all compliment each other. 'I luv u' shows awareness ofsituation and a word play that is ingenius. The album is entertaining,thoughtful and his style and he will be huge in the US because they arecrying out for a change, whereas here we are always changing and dizzee isthe forerunner. What do you call it? I call it Dizzee.
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