Wascally wapper gets Tongue N’ Cheek

Bow boy Dylan Mills, aka Dizzee Rascal, fourth album, the first exclusively released through his own Dirtee Stank imprint, is released this week.

The title itself is a perfect summation of what’s inside – tongue twisting flow and cheeky ideas, a barrowload of humour and lip-lickingly glossy production.

Leading off with the ubiquitous bassline of the summer, Bonkers, Dizzee’s fourth album starts as it means to continue, aimed squarely at packed dancefloors, with a large dollop of fun and a degree of self-deprecation among the bravado.

That single, along with the sublime Dance Wiv Me and Holiday, are the lynchpins of the record, demonstrating an ability to turn his hand to chart-friendly fare that is a long way from his resolutely street early releases.

Trying and succeeding with ease to cross over the notional boundaries in European music, Dizzee is reaching out beyond his grime foundations, connecting with the pop, rock and indie audiences who bounced across the fields of the continent during his classy festival performances this year.

But the grime and dancehall influence remains, and the record is all the better for their presence, a reminder of the best moments from Boy in Da Corner and Maths N’ English, showing how far Dizzee has come in the relatively short space of his career to date.

Chillin’ Wiv Da Man Dem is Cube’s Today Was A Good Day set in Diz’s London manor, a smooth laid back late summer cut, and his re-imagining of Stevie V’s Dirty Cash is another great floorfiller, sure to be another huge hit single, marrying the house  to a recession rap that will really connect with his ever-increasing posse.

He has said in interviews that the point of the record was to challenge himself, to try pop stylings instead of remaining in one corner when there are other worlds to explore, especially when his easy charm, fascinating backstory and self-awareness elevates him to the chatshow circuit, and access to the audiences they open up for him.

The really interesting thing will be to discover the avenue he decides to follow on his next release, whatever that might be. A maturing Diz can only be more confident on the back of the success he has enjoyed since teaming with Calvin Harris and Armand Van Helden, and Dizzee’s dazzling backing on these tracks, and on Tongue N’ Cheek as a whole, will prove a strong formula to take into the lab and distil for the next chapter.

Bounce…

One hand in the air for the big city…

Jay-Z, the coolest man in the galaxy at the moment, played Madison Square Garden on Friday night in aid of the New York Police and Fire Widow’s and Children’s charity, Answer The Call.

Putting aside the motives for a moment (a benefit show for 9/11 victim’s families on the same day as the release of a new record was a little questionable), it roc-ed Manhattan from the Bronx to Statten Island.

A stellar guest-list for the night – Santogold, John Mayer, Kanye, Pharell, Mary J Blige, Diddy, Rihanna, Beyonce, Kid Cudi,  (did I miss anyone?) – a tight-as live band, a magical NY skyline backdrop and the biggest and best beats from his 15 year career… who could ask for anything more?

It was an astonishing night, an incredible concert and validation of Jay’s place in the hip-hop firmament. Hova has gone beyond genre classification, and with classy shows like this before an adoring audience, he shows that maybe, just maybe, he is the new Sinatra.

The only down-side was concert broadcaster fuse.tv’s insistence of dropping every profanity from the audio, and not in an elegant way. Armed with a mute button and no subtlety, whole lines and music were deleted – hopefully there will be an unedited version somewhere out there for those not so easily offended.

Open your ears, open your hearts and enjoy…

It’s Hova’s world, we just lucky to live in it

As the album leak spreads across the globe, it would be irresponsible not to do the decent thing, accept Jay’s invitation, and enjoy The Blueprint 3 before it officially drops on September 11.

So, eleven albums in, Jay-Z has delivered what will come in time to be considered as… about his fourth best album.

Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint 1 and The Black Album will always trump most things that other rappers release, hands down, and, in turn, those releases have become the yardsticks that Jay’s music will be measured by for as long as he’s in the game.

That’s not to say Blueprint 3 is a poor relation to those massive records. Its big production, its beats courtesy of Kanye West, Pharell, No ID and Timbaland, guest appearances and Jay’s own smooth, smooth flow, set it apart.

The best moments are the purest rap ones, where Hov just rhymes and amazes with his ability to weave words, dizzying with imagery and his stream-of-consciousness style.

But, on some tracks, Jay feels like the hype man, not the main attraction. Whereas it’s great to give props to the new life blood of hip-hop, you wonder if his presence might have served the collaborators better by these tracks appearing on their own releases, not this one. Would these songs absence have made Blueprint 3 a better cohesive whole, focussing on Jay and Jay only? Isn’t that what we really want?

That said, this is an exceptional ride, and, from start to finish, the mood is up and the chrome-shining production puts a smile on your face. You can’t help but bounce to What We Talking About, DOA, Empire State of Mind and On To The Next One, and the rhymes are packed and skilful, sending you back time and again to catch the meaning, nuance and humour.

If the album that follows takes the promised experimental direction, then The Blueprint 3 can be seen as a line drawn under a fine, if unexceptional, run of form since The Black Album, before Jay-Z hopefully jumpstarts another revolution in hip-hop and his own career.

Update: Here’s some visuals – ROC Nation is in the hay-oose!