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…