T/S - Dizzee Rascal vs the Streets

Q: Should Dizzee move into jungle territory? I have yet to hear a straight-up rapper toast a jungle track with great results, but Dizzee seems like he would/could/should tear it up....

And The Streets.

i shudder at this, mainly because of the dizzee freestyles we witnessed - four cautionary ghetto tales. if i want cautionary ghetto tales i can put on "mecca and the soul brother" or whatever. i'd say in terms of linearly developed narrative skinner's got dizzee beat, in terms of parallel glossolalia or whatever you want to call it dizzee's got skinner beat six ways to next friday. the fact that dizzee wants to move backwards towards "know the ledge" is disturbing.

comparing their beats is a non-starter for lots of reasons. that would be like t/s: "maxinquaye" vs "history of our world pt ii".

also skinner's reliance on prop comedy is a very very bad sign for his artistic development. and his insistence on very bad britishness jokes between songs. and he was totally upstaged by his backup singer. and his on-stage persona is really cuntish. and he completely lost the crowd whenever he did anything off "a grand don't come for free". and dizzee seemed way more into "same old thing" than skinner, judging from his off-stage bopping, and the only song that got a bigger reaction than that was "don't mug yourself".

i've gotta go with dizzee.

also i don't know why a rapper would improve jungle any more than a guitar solo would, and conversely why a jungle beat would improve a good rap track.

let me back up a bit here on this statement though and say that i'm dying to hear somebody put "got it twisted" over optical's "to shape the future", or something to that effect.

He was damned good, that guy. Any idea who he is?

Just based on their recorded material, I tend to favor Dizzee. For me, his sharp delivery and sparse (even creepy) beats are what takes the cake. I wasn't half as impressed with A Grand Don't Come For Free as I was with Original Pirate Material (which I thought showcased Skinner in a much funner, more fitting atmosphere where he was better able to flex his wit).

what, does "cockhound" not have an allmusic.com entry?

But yeah, based on the live show, if I had to put in a cash bet, my money's on Dizzee....

Dizzee's beats are good, sometimes awesome examples of grime's sonic criteria-at-work - physically bracing, vaguely danceable, emphasis on harshness etc. etc. or tremulous emotional electronic shimmers etc. etc.

Skinner increasingly uses his music as a narrative device so his arrangements are harder to judge on their own terms; they're reliant on the stories that accompany them to explain them and vice versa.

I think Skinner could be a great grime producer if he decided to be (see the remix of "Let's Push Things Forward" or "Get Out Of My House") but he's deliberately chosen a different path. You could argue that he's wasting his talents (although I think there's enough amazing grime producers that Skinner doesn't *need* to make grime beats), but a straight comparison b/w Dizzee and Skinner in the beats department probably won't reveal much.

i guess on another level it'd be like comparing timbaland's tracks he makes for missy elliot albums with dancehall riddims.

or maybe this doesn't make sense. i think the comparison of maxinquaye to jungle albums might be confusing the issue also.

but i'm still gonna pick Skinner, sorry Rosco

GRIMEFOX DONE A JOKE!

"brand new day" + "i luv u" + "fix up look sharp" + "stop dat" > "weak become heroes" + "same old thing" + "don't mug yourself" + "turn the page" >> the rest of the dizzee album >>>>>> the rest of the streets album

i know lots of people like "let's push things forward" and "has it come to this" but they don't really figure into my algebra. mainly because i heard them as acapellas over better beats first.

I'd say the same thing about I Luv U, Do It, Fix Up, New Day and Hold Ya Mouf ... at least.

("I'm the fitness instructor" - I'm not sure how many MCs could handle that demented elf all over their track)

Why can't we have it all?????

OR MAYBE KAISH.