This is another one that's been a while in the making. Dizz dropped Showtime only a year after Boy In Da Corner (the same year in the US), but Maths & English took him a few more years to put in the bag, and it definitely shows. While Rasket maintains his signatures Logic synth-layered style, he is also progressing forward into new territory. Like, for instance, sampling James Brown.
In terms of his first album, the production sounds a lot more traditional-hip-hop, but there are still psychedelic nuances, wonky synths, sweeping filters and wandering delays. And it's still gangster. I'm pretty convinced that the "hi-hat" sound for the opener "World Outside" is the sharpening of a large butcher's knife. People say he's getting Americanized or whatever, but I don't see Pharrell or Kanye doing this sort of production. Sure, it doesn't quite sound like grime anymore, or whatever, but it sounds good: it sounds different enough to be a progression, yet the same enough (maybe even just in attitude) to be familiar.
If you've yet to venture into Dizzee Dizz territory, I'd probably suggest Boy In Da Corner first, but if you've been following along with things so far, Maths & English is no surprise. 4 stars from allmusic, but they tend to be off on this sort of shit. There's no review, and there's not even a state-side CD copy of the thing, you have to import it. Thankfully CDUniverse has it on the cheap (for an import).
At this point, I feel a bit redundant. Everything I've written is about music I've been digging. What's my excuse? I don't listen to music I don't like? I dunno.. maybe. Not enough radio, or promotional cds, or something. Anyways, listen to Dizzee Dizz. Summertime....
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