Dizzee Rascal

Dizzee delivers his hardest disc to date. The introspection and playfulness of prior work is buried beneath hooligan vignettes and hip-hop braggadocio. Churning dissonance and tales of police evasion mark the lead single "Sirens," which evokes Jigga's "99 Problems," while the propulsive, old-school breaks of "P*ssyhole" are reminiscent of hip-hop's golden age as Dizzee takes aim at former collaborator Wiley. Elsewhere, Rascal teams up with H-Town hip-hop legends Bun B and Pimp C for the snide, snarling "Where's Da G's." Though jarring, the raw tone infuses Dizzee with newfound vitality.

Three albums into his career, London rapper Dizzee Rascal still sounds like a thug from a
parallel universe: Maths and English is long on dark, dense electro beats and frazzled
techno, plus frantic-but-ballsy rhymes that even Brits might have trouble parsing. It's
nothing particularly new for Dizzee, but he sounds more assured than ever, and like this
season of The Sopranos, Maths is a tense, uncomfortable prospect that gets und... More >