Dizzee Rascal

Leave it up to a 19 year old from London, England to put out one of the very few albums in years to be true to the ‘old school’ principles of hip-hop. Rawness, street angst, and originality all come spewing out of the rapper, whose album is certain to leave an important segment of the worldwide population nodding their heads to its tweaked out rhythms and artfully careless rhyme styles.

Boy in Da Corner toggles in its stance within the hip-hop world between playfully jabbing commentary, and pissed off retaliation. As far as commercial appeal, the jabbing is where Rascal’s strength is. “Fix Up Look Sharp,” the album's standout single, has the rapper throwing down half-serious/half-joking lyrics over a simple, rock-sounding drumbeat. A few of the more serious tracks, though, are a lot less convincing. Some of the tales leave you wondering if he’s actually talking about his environment, or if he’s imagining an environment that’s a lot more dangerous than, say, London.

As far as production and style, the album is far from what’s being done in hip-hop today. Rather than having tracks layered with bass lines and catchy choruses, Dizzee Rascal is bold enough, and confident enough, to leave the bass to a minimum, and lay his unorthodox delivery of rhymes within the minimally produced framework that he’s created. The echo effect on his vocals accentuate the rawness and eerie emptiness of his technique.

In addtion to “Fix-up Look Sharp,” standout tracks include “Brand New Day, and “Jus’ A Rascal.”