Dizzee Rascal - Showtime

There are a couple of possibly distressing things about Dizzee Rascal's second album, released almost exactly a year after his breakthrough debut. In the wake of The Streets' ambitious A Grand Don't Come For Free, its title -- Showtime -- conjures frights about a concept record strangled by ruminations on newfound fame and all the accompanying trappings. Dizzee being such a product of his environment, as Boy In Da Corner conveyed with stark original clarity, it'd be a shame to see the producer/MC stagger down the trodden-flat route of the average lyricist who has tasted a smidgen of glory, real or make-believe: how many people crave another slew of verses about gold-digging women and crew members who have morphed into greedy coattail ridersNULL This paranoia is compounded by pre-release rumors of Dizzee American-izing his sound, sacrificing individuality for the sake of widespread appeal. Read More