Dizzee Rascal

Posted by: Mekon on 08 July 2003

Hype or not?

I've been seeing write ups for a while, and now an glowing review has shown up on Pitchfork. I've grabbed a handful of tracks off Kazaa. 'I luv u' isn't bad, but there's nothing that makes me think this is 'the next level shit' it's being made out to be. Am I missing something? Obviously, I've not heard the full album, and it's hard to appreciate MP3's but 9.4 looks like hype compared to the utterly dope King Geedorah album that only grabbed a 9.

Posted on: 08 July 2003 by ejl

The Pitchfork review that you're referring to made me skeptical too. It went on and on about how wonderful it is that the kid expresses some doubts about the wisdom of using drugs and killing people (".... he touchingly wonders if estate violence is youthful folly that he and his mates will outgrow", etc.). This is not only not new in hip hop, it's seriously cliched. The snippet I heard left me similarly underwhelmed, so this is a pass for now.