Amazon.co.uk Review: On Boy in the Corner, 18-year-old East Londoner Dylan "Dizzee Rascal" Mills sets himself the task of melding British hip-hop with UK-garage. Both styles have an unenviable history of providing a sonic backdrop to violence and criminality, and both are subject to excessive scrutiny from obsessive purists who view miscegenation as heresy. So it's little surprise that Mills' debut sounds so paranoid, claustrophobic and unsettling; this is front-line music, fidgety, distracted and distracting. It is, in the main slow, stripped-down and awkward, recalling Kraftwerk, Afrika Bambaataa, Schooly D and LL Cool J as much as Dizzee's UK peers.
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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - A Must Have CD.
What can I say? It's a brilliant album in every way. Sounds just as good today as it did when it was first released.
Love it!
Rating: - A must-have CD
This album is one that I will gladly label as a personal favourite, and I'd probably throw the term classic in there as well. It is fresh, it is unique and it is real. The songs are easy on the ear but if you listen more closely the lyrics are witty and a smart commentary on various aspects of modern life. Dizzee's style is diverse and interesting throughout the whole album, and it appeals to almost anyone that might happen to hear it. Seeing a club full of goths throwing shapes to the sounds of ... Read More
Rating: - Garage/Grime Dont matter..
You like garage/ grime u gotta have this album...
your british and like hip hop u gotta have this album!
it may not resemble hip hop at all but all the essence is there in a fresh prespective!
ive seen a lot of americans or people expecting it to be solid hip hop giving it low ratings but you want to listen to american hip hop listen to american hip hop this is pure british and pure brilliance
Rating: - Grime Grime Grime
I baught this album after hearing "fix up look sharp". i hadnt ever heard grime at all & at first i was put off by what one reviewer said were "weird beats". I kept with it and there are some stand out tracks "jezebelle" to name but one.
please take note THIS ISNT HIP HOP! the beats are weird & sound like a mobile phone but that is the point.
Dizzee's first album deserves all the praise it gets...buy it
Rating: - Deep, dark and stunning...
Too many of these reviews are long-winded and pointless.
This is, quite simply, a stunning slice of British music - whether it's garage, hip-hop, or whatever - doesn't matter - the guy is so distinctive and so ENGLISH, at last! He raps over some hideously deep and evil bass beats and it all sounds perfect!
Just download 'I Luv U' if you're not sure - listen to it once and you'll be buyin the album. This guy, along with Roots Manuva are holding up the British hip-hop scene very ... Read More
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