Dizzee Rascal - Maths And English

Being one of the most interesting new musical genres so far appearing in the 21st century, it's a bit unfair the lack of attention that grime has been suffering lately, but that's the price you have to pay for the arrival of dubstep, which made everyone turn their focus into the new sounds coming by people like Burial, Kode9 or Skream, and forget grime pioneers like Wiley or Dizzee Rascal. Firstly seen as a British response to the predominance of american projects in the world of hip-hop, grime's originality was based in a collection of futuristic beats, dark basslines and videogames samples with killer effects. And if ever there was a grime's representative, that person was surely Dizzee Rascal. Did he deserve it? Try listenning to his anthem song "I Luv U" nowadays, 4 years later, and you'll come to the same conclusion as me: it still fucking rocks, sounding as unique and radical as ever
Having started his carreer at the tender age of 17, his first album, 2003's "Boy In Da Corner", was critically lauded, even receiving that year's Mercury Prize. After a second album ("Showtime" from 2004) which got a mixed reaction, "Maths and English" is here to clear all doubts and prove that there's more to Dizzee Rascal than being the wonderboy of a once-fashionable music style. Being his most varied record yet, it actually gives one step further and starts leaving grime behind, incorporating alien elements like old-school flavours, jungle beats, metal samples, cool synth lines or even guestspots by Lily Allen and UGK. Showing a maturity that surpasses every expectation, each and every song in here tries and succeeds in having an identity of its own, always including specific details and elements that keep demanding for our attention. And then there's Dizzee's presence, rapping in his trademark frenetic and urgent style, uniting all points and building what is probably his most solid and consistent record yet. (8/10)