The Singles Jukebox

OH SHIT DIZZEE’S BEEFING WITH PINK & NATE RUESS!!…

[Video][Website]
[5.00]

Anthony Easton: The radical potential for Dizzee Rascal has collapsed into another epic sex beg — you might not need a reason to fuck, but I suspect you might need a reason to tell us about it.
[4]

Patrick St. Michel: The actual words are goofy and a bit too plugged in to rap trends — are snapbacks still cool? But Dizzee Rascal says those words oh so well, his delivery as sharp as ever. He could read me profiles of Jeff Bezos and I’d listen.
[6]

Alfred Soto: The soundscapes still operate under the Noise Annoys principle, and I hear no collapse of his speed or agility. Unlike “Goin’ Crazy,” in other words, I could theoretically listen to this again. But it’s a long way from recording music that sounded like he believed life is “a game of chess” to mouthing the words.
[6]

Jonathan Bogart: If I was more confident of my premise/knew at all what I was talking about, I’d pitch a piece comparing the (d)evolution of Dizzee Rascal’s music over the past decade with Jay Z’s. He’s still got amazing taste in collaborators and producers, but what the hell has happened to his ability to rap?
[4]

Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: I was worried that the hardest Dizzee would rap all year was going to be on a Jessie J song where the competition was Medium Sean, but here he is, rapping nimbly and dropping comfort food lines about being from Bow E3. The problem is with Free School’s beat, which nicks its minimalist verses from Dizzee’s 2004 masterpiece “Everywhere” and its hall-of-mirrors hook from Diplo’s career. At this point, the lack of urgency in Dizzee’s voice becomes evident, and urgency has always been his voice’s best attribute. Forget the awkward pop collabos — an uninspired Dizzee is not what we need right now, as much as he may think otherwise.
[4]

Brad Shoup: Back from bass rehab, Dizzee makes an American-style rapp jam with the help of Jean-Baptiste, he of the terrifying CV. Sound and fury and not much of a chorus. At least he’s going triple-time on his crossover attempts. But since the video isn’t available in my country, it’s entirely possible that he doesn’t need such a commercial reason to jump on the Diplo sound.
[5]

Crystal Leww: Dizzee Rascal’s always been a technically proficient rapper, so it doesn’t make sense why he sounds like he’s trying so hard to prove that he is. It just feels like a complete onslaught of sound from beginning to end, and the result is that the vast majority of it sounds one-noted and flat. The places where he takes the time to breathe, like the moment where he pauses with “whaaaaaat?” and the part where he adlibs “bleck!”, are the most ear-catching parts of the track. If he’s trying to take the crown of “Best UK rapper” back from Tinie Tempah, this isn’t enough to do it. It’s a perfectly fine track, but it sounds more like an album cut than the single that will help him re-launch.
[5]

Will Adams: The beat needs to be a bit more snappy to overcome its minimalism. Dizzee does fine, but he’s better on the hook, while the verses fall flat.
[5]

Edward Okulicz: Dizzee’s low-intensity, cuddly sass is fine and actually charming, but the chorus could have been snatched from a below-par Lonely Island tribute act.
[6]