Dizzee Rascal- 'Raskit' Album Review

Dizzee Rascal – ‘Raskit’

Back in 2009, Dizzee Rascal released his 4^th studio album ‘Tongue n Cheek’, an album that was as obvious as it was awful. Rascal (real name Dylan Mills) seemingly ditched his grime roots of albums like ‘Boy in Da Corner’ and ‘Maths + English’ that had made him so popular and respected in London in an attempt to appeal to the masses, yet this pop album resulted in many diehard fans viewing Mills as selling out and abandoning his roots. This was also apparent on his last album ‘The Fifth’, a truly dire album that featured awful beats, awful lyrics and awful collaborations with awful artists like Will.I.Am & Robbie Williams... not exactly grime is it Mr Rascal. Many fans had seen this as the death of Rascal, a once great grime artist who had stepped down from his throne in an attempt to make some money in the pop world. But, in 2017, it seems that Rascal is back to his best. New album ‘Raskit’ fully embraces his grime upbringing whilst seamlessly weaving US rap vibes throughout the record.

On ‘Raskit’, Rascal wastes no time in ensuring that the listener clearly understands this shift in sound with album opener ‘Focus’, a fiery grime attack that instantly stamps Rascal’s authority on this record. This sets the tone for the majority of this album which mainly feature the fast-paced grime bars that made Rascal so popular around 14 years ago. And this idea of old-times is rather interesting in terms of ‘Raskit’. There is a clear theme of nostalgia on this album with Rascal mainly tackling his naysayers, the line “Why they talking like I never made bare grime?” certainly vindicates this. ‘Make it Last’ & ‘Bop N Keep it Dippin’ both revolve around stories from when Rascal was growing up, again adding to this element of nostalgia and reminiscing. There is no hiding from Rascal’s insults on ‘Raskit’, no matter who you are. Tories, hipsters, other MC’s, fans asking for selfies, Chelsea fans all get it in the neck at some point on this record.

The production level of ‘Raskit’ is also something that needs to take note. Producer Dan Farber has concocted an extremely clever array of beats for Rascal to spit over. The beats main advantage revolve around the fact that they successfully aid Rascal’s vocals whilst also incorporating mad sounds that allow you to appreciate both the lyrical ability of Rascal and the beats provided by Farber.

Despite its many pro points, Raskit does have its crack. To me, it feels like an album of 2 sides, the first 9 songs are extremely good, they all feature fast-paced lyrics and beats and sound inexplicably clever, whilst the rest of the songs after  ‘Bop N Keep It Dippin’ all seem like filler tracks and they don’t really add much to the overall sound of this album. ‘Way I Am’ in particular as it feels like a track that would not have been out of place on one of Rascal’s pop records. ‘Raskit’ is also too long; this album does not need 16 tracks. I understand that Rascal is attempting to dismay his critics by showing that he is still able to do grime so that could be why he has included so many tracks, however it is simply not required.

Overall, ‘Raskit’ is an exceptionally strong album, especially when compared to Rascal’s last two records. There are a number of plaudits including his lyrical ability, the speed of his bars and the beats provided. There are also no features on this record, a rare sight on a grime record, and this is also another advantage of Rascal’s, he is clearly confident enough in his ability that he feels comfortable in attacking a whole album on his own, and that has to be applauded. It feels to me that the once shamed knight of the realm has finally returned to claim back his crown.

Overall Rating- 8/10

Fave Tracks- ‘Make it Last’, ‘Space’, ‘Business Man’, ‘Bop N Keep It Dippin’, Wot U Gonna Do?’, ‘The Other Side’

Least Fave Tracks- ‘Way I Am’