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Ever since 2003 when we were first introduced to Dizzee Rascal he’s cut an almost schizophrenic musical pattern. He began as a grimy dubstep gangster in his early days with his mercury music prize winning debut ‘Boy in Da Corner’. ‘Showtime’ was baffling for its blatant flirting with the mainstream (‘Dream’) and 2007’s ‘Maths+English’ saw Dizzee expand into filling dancefloors whilst retaining his aggressive edge.
In truth ‘Tongue N Cheek’ is an almost natural musical progression towards the popstar Dizzee Rascal as opposed to the gangster Dizzee Rascal. There’s more samples, more nods to the mainstream (even name checking Kris Akabusi for a laugh) and above all more record-selling power. Little needs to be said about the hat-trick of number one’s which will surely ensure ‘Tongue N Cheek’ tops the album chart come Sunday. ‘Holiday’ is the highlight with a party vibe and a gigantic dance chorus which dwarfs anything Dizzee has pulled out before.
‘Bonkers’ and ‘Dance Wiv Me’ are lyrically average but musically superior. It all depends if you give lyrics a second thought or whether Dizzee is merely an excuse to run towards the dancefloor.
The album benefits greatly from the samples especially on stand out track ‘Dirtee Cash’ which borrows Stevie V’s ‘Money Talks’ to impressive effect. Not only does the music work perfectly but for once Dizzee’s lyrics stand up to close scrutiny. Considering this has always been his weak point it’s an encouraging sign.
It’s not all as impressive however. ‘Money, money’ is a rather weak sounding bling song which mocks his own musical intelligence and juxtaposes the outstanding anti-gang violence track ‘Leisure’.
‘Road Rage’ is almost a carbon copy of ‘Pussyole (Old Skool)’ from ‘Maths+English’ with its refrain of “You don’t wanna see road rage.” Unfortunately the aggression is lost when Dizzee does an impression of a car zooming by – cringe-worthy.
‘Tongue N Cheek’ is an album of distinctive ups and downs, perhaps written with a festival audience in mind. You can’t help but feel in the end though that despite boasting more number one’s than you can shake a stick at, Dylan Mills loses some of his cutting edge in converting to the mainstream full-time.
