Boy In Da Corner - Dizzee Rascal > Reviews > Dizzee Boy Doin' It Big

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Very original
Disadvantages:	Sometimes production doesn't quite work

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

"Boy In Da Corner" was the 2003 debut album from the London rapper Dizzee Rascal. This album will soon be seen as a classic as it marked a change in the UK urban music seen as between 1998 and 2002, the dominant music sub-genre, was the Electronica-based style of Garage (which then broke down in to the two main categories of 2-Step and 4x4). At these times, the music was all dance music and focused on female vocals over a new-age Electronica beat, but as males began to dominate the scene with the likes of So Solid Crew, Heartless Crew, and the More Fire Crew, Garage then declined and became the UK equivalent to Gangsta rap in the US. A short time after the release of this album saw this new form of Garage be named Grime, due to its grimey beats and hardcore raps, and this was the pioneering album release in this genre.

Just to reassure those who are not aware, Garage went underground once Grime emerged, and it has only recently come back up with the new Bassline (House) movement, which takes on much of the past 2-Step and 4x4 characteristics, with female vocals and heavy dance-related sounds, however I see it merging in the future once again as this did because Grime MCs are beginning to get involved with this new movement by remixing it to suit themselves. Dubstep has been seen as another alternative dark rave version of Grime as the production is often very similar in that most of the focus is upon the bass, but in a different way to Bassline as it is much more grim.

1. Sittin' Here

I felt that this was an extremly fitting introduction to this album, as the title of "Boy In Da Corner", felt me wondering what exactly meant by this phrase, but he does give some guidance here as to where the inspration for both the name of the album, and the direction of it from him seeing past all of the dance tunes and having visions of spreading the word of a culture which hadn't yet been explored to it's full potential.

**Three Stars**

2. Stop Dat

In comparison to the rest of the album, this one take a different approach by coming with some rave music, rather than the darker grimey tunes which are found on here. I felt that it was quite refreshing as it was a new take on 4x4 Garage, with a lot of bassline emphasis. This track showed that Dizzee could do a lot more than the deep and dark tunes, and can also offer you something to dance to as well. A selection of beats are used in this, switching from onne to a completly new one every half a minute or so, and they all seem to suprise you everytime, but it sill has a nice flow.

**Five Stars**

3. I Luv U (feat. Lady Sovereign)

This was the big debut single from Dizzee Rascal, and it featured another artist who was just about to make it big, Lady Sovereign, but she doesn't really compare to Dizzee, as she didn't make as big an impact on the scene (I don't care that she went to America).

This track was very different to anything that the UK was producing around this time as 2-Step, although on a decline, was still dominant, so when this bassy and grundgy tune came out, it was a big change to anything that you would usually hear. It also soke on something which only the 'urban' communities knew about with teenage pregnancy, but this way it was used didn't see it have any likilness to anything like "Brenda's Got A Baby" as it was quite comical, despite the dark subject.

**Three Stars**

4. Brand New Day

You get a sense of the album being very experimental when you hear a beat like in this one as there are many stragne sounds being used which just cannot be described as they are so unconventional, even in terms of Electronica (which doesn't seem to have limits). You have Dizzee with his own production playing around with his voice, and scratching the music, making for something which sounded very original, but not negatively.

**Three Stars**

5. 2 Far (feat. Wiley)

If you notice in the rise of Grime, then you may be more interested in this track than I am as Dizzee was a member of Roll Deep, alongside Wiley, and this was their final track together before a conflict between the two. Of course, at the release of this album it meant nothing, but the artist was one of the biggest on the underground scene at the time.

I didn't really care for the backstory, so it had no influence on my opinion on this track, I felt that Wiley and Dizzee Rascal worked off each other well here, and they made for a great Grime tune with suitable beats, but not going too deep into something that most people wouldn't understand other than those from in London.

**Four Stars**

6. Fix Up, Look Sharp

Billy Squier's "The Big Beat" is sampled in this track, and it really does set firm foundations for this as it is simply a 'Big Beat', and it would stand out amongst in any album, bu having this as the only sample in the entire album makes it more distinct and hard for "Boy In Da Corner".

Dizzee's off-beat style doesn't really make sense on this beat because the sample is the ideal rhythm setter, and he doesn't use it to his advantage for rapping. However, the drum beat does really grab you, making for a very good track.

**Four Stars**

7. Cut 'Em Off

Once again you have Dizzee experimenting with what he can do with the production as he uses echoing technique which creates a tense atmosphere as he says about three phrases at the same time, making putting you in the centre of lots of people talking to you at once.

In comparison to his later work, this is quite simialr to "Where's Da G's", from his latest album in that comments on the elements which are required to make up a true gangsta, and he says why he should 'cut off' all of the fakers, of which there are many.

**Three Stars**

9. Round We Go

I felt that this one wasn't as strong as the rest of the album, but it did have a good concept to it and Dizzee's production worked up to this theme of spinning, asit seems as though you are turning around as he prodivdes the riff in short spurnts which sound as if they are gradualling circling you. The theme connects to this as he talks about getting caught up in closed-system, which will have you going through the same things continuously.

**Two Stars**

8. Hold Ya Mouf (feat. God's Gift)

This is Dizzee's chance to get hard as he gets in your face telling you that people should watch their mouth around him, because unlike others, he's willing to take action against them for dissing him. The back-up of God's Gift (although I don't know who he is) adds to his strength as you beleivew him more by hinting on bringing his blix (gun), with the various firearm references, but without actually saying these words.

**Three Stars**

10. Jus' A Rascal

This is the third single from the album and it did stand out in the album as very different as the producer, and sometimes rapper Taz, does the production and he switches everything up as he fuses this rapping with guitar-based rock rhythms to create a unique sound. The chorus hook is the downfall to it though, and the reason why it saw so much criticism as "He's Jus' A Rascal" is sung in an annoying way, and it prevents you enjoying his verses as much.

**Three Stars**

11. Wot U On

The whiny voice saying "Love talks to everyone; money talks more" in the chrous sets you up for the track, and this ismple message is thought-provoking enough, so once Dizzee goes on to explain it, you do have to reflect on the lyrics, and understanding why people choose to steal, and such. Although he shouldn't condone this, obviously, he does stand up for those who do this, as he did in the past, and it's not just naiviety, he has ggot some real reasons for it all.

**Three Stars**

12. Jezebel

Although I said in "I Luv U", Dizzee was a little too comical to get the serious message through, here he makes more of an effort as he goes through a contiunous flow of explaining the life of a girl that 'gets around' the area. It is very similar to the 2Pac song which I mentioned earlier, and if Dizzee released this as his debut single, he probably would have been criticsed for copying 'Pac rather than taking influence from him, but I thought that he did well in explaining the difficulty that these girls go through in their lives from a lack of education, leading up to them recieving STDs and having fatherless children.

**Four Stars**

13. Seems 2 Be

A female voice begis this track with a little introduction to the artist before you get onto the lyrics, it's quite funny as it sounds as if she's been forced to say that she loves his worked, when she probably doesn't know who he is, it's then finished off with a little snippet of Chris Tucker from the film "Friday" saying "...and you know this........maaaan", just to let you know that it's light-hearted.

Dizzee comes this some pretty typical rhymes, they don't have a particular overall theme, it's more of just an example of what he could come up with in the future as he spits freestyle-esuq lines, but under more controlled conditions, I felt that he could get away with it though as it made a change as if he was able to free himself and just flow about anything.

**Four Stars**

14. Live O

This is an example of Dizzee being ahead of the US rap game as he tlaks about his position on the whole 'snitching' issue a couple of year before the DVD emerged on the East Coast of the US, warning people away from getting invovloveed in illegal activities, to then go on to tell the police about this.

Dizzee was so original here in coming up with this whole concept, but I can't say it was then stolen by Americans, because I doubt they would have heard this. However he doe come with the same sort of fire that the Americans did later on, because although the "Stop Snitchin'. Stop Lyin'" campaign was an underground one, it was still verged on actually being illegal in terms of blackmail.

**Three Stars**

I think that it's quite strange that Dizzee came with such a dark and grimey album such as this, pionneering a whole new genre of music, and then by 2007 with "Maths + English", he has almost completely moved away from this Grime genre in the pursuit of fusing other musical genres as he trialled some Indie, Drum & Bass and House in recent material.