The Singles Jukebox

Going for a hat-trick of UK number ones…

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[6.15]

Talia Kraines: And so continues the morphing of Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris into each other. Starting with an almost Wigan Pier / Bonkers stylee bassline, it’s a big phat song that will go off whether you’re in Blackpool’s Sanuk or standing about in a group of middle class white children in Hyde Park. “A pina colada or whatever you’re after” is the chat up line of the summer and the last 30 seconds are insanely brilliant. Calvin should have kept this one for himself.
[9]

Michaelangelo Matos: He’s clearly found a formula, and this isn’t terrible, but the slope he’s on does not really go upward.
[6]

Dan MacRae: Lyrically, Dizzee’s game seems to be so dumbed down it could be considered lobotimized. The summer fun theme and the glittering mirrorball production seem like ripe terrain for at least one memorable punchline; instead, it sounds like Dizzee’s treading water.
[5]

Jordan Sargent: So this is the “Just a Lil Bit” part of his career then?
[4]

Martin Skidmore: Dizzee always amuses me, so he’s unlikely to ever get a low score from me, but Chrome’s hook adds nothing, and in sum it unfortunately reminds me more of “Holiday Rap” than former Dizzee glories.
[5]

Anthony Miccio: I’m totally fine with Dizzee Rascal dropping some escapist bubblegum – he sure sounds like he’s having fun – but the ancient Ibiza synths grate like a House Of Style re-run. And I don’t appreciate how the last thirty seconds evoke the moment you realize you’re too fucked up to be at a dance club.
[4]

Tal Rosenberg: Dizzee plays Will Smith playing Shabba playing Madonna; then Chrome plays Haddaway; then they both play Ibiza, playing in the sun, implicitly playing games with her heart; then you play it again.
[9]

Chuck Eddy: Hard to write a horrible song called “Holiday,” though I’d be surprised if this ranks in the all-time Top 10 (#1: Nazareth, of course!). I do like how Dizzee’s flow reminds me of Coolio, and how the tune winds up reminding me of ’80s r&b, and how the electroblips get loop-de-loop toward the end.
[7]

Alfred Soto: Trading a smidgen of his personality for the chance of scoring his idea of a club anthem, Dizzee plugs a sequencer into his Xbox and lets it rip. The mix still retains a murk that might appease fans who still consider Boy in Da Corner his testament to the world, but these days if I want to give a Dizzee neophyte a taste of how well the history of hip-hop can make peace with garage and Lily Allen, I’ll burn them a copy of Maths + English.
[8]

Alex Ostroff: On Maths + English, Dizzee’s serious moments paled in comparison to the heights of Boy in da Corner, while ‘throwaway’ party tracks had staying power – “Flex”, “Bubbles” and their ilk are among his best work. The equation “Dizzee + Dance Music = Undeniable Bangers” therefore struck me as a wise one to follow on Tongue ‘n’ Cheek, but, like “Dance Wiv Me” and “Bonkers”, this is bland and lacking in bite. It’s a decent piece of Daft Punk-aping summer fluff, but it could be a full-on sonic assault and dance instigator.
[6]

Renato Pagnani: This time around the synths are more kinetic and Harris switches things up more often, even inserting little G-funk flourishes amongst the track’s more traditional house elements, like throbbing bass and a sense of propulsion that threatens to careen off the track at any moment. Harris suits Dizzee much better than Armand Van Helden, and Dizzee’s performance here is confirmation —- he sounds more comfortable, catching the beat in a more natural way, never once in danger of losing control. Every syllable is expertly placed, every deviation in his cadence refreshing, every oddball sentiment genuine (“And I’ll never let your belly get empty/ Even when your belly full you’re still sexy”). Dizzee is playing the I’m A Rich Rapper And I’ll Fly You To Insert Clichéd Holiday Destination Here card, but it never sounds desperate (in that being rich and famous is the only reason he’s getting girls) or sleazy, which has always been a huge strength of Dizzee as a rapper.
[7]

Hillary Brown: I don’t mind the production, and I tend to like Dizzee’s stuff a lot, but the combination of the two’s like chocolate-covered anchovies or something.
[4]

Matt Cibula: This pretty much sounds like depresso-house to me, enervated but not interestingly so, unlike Tricky (whose album last year was actually really good, by the way). I … oh, I don’t know what to say about Dizzee Rascal, I’ll let the Brits do it. But it’s not horrid.
[6]