Search - Dizzee Rascal :: Maths + English

3-1/2 stars -- Good luck trying to find this

Anthony Rupert | Milwaukee, WI | 01/24/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Back in 2004, when MTV2 actually played videos from TALENTED rappers, they were all about an explosion of grime artists (for further information on what exactly that entails, refer to my review for Lady Sovereign's album); one of which was Dizzee Rascal. Back then I couldn't really get into him, but I still decided to check out his latest offering, Maths + English.



One good thing about this album is that the production is much more accessible than what was found on Boy in da Corner. But the thing is, this album isn't for everyone not only because it's grime, but because Dizzee's accent is so thick that even his speaking voice has an acquired taste. Speaking of that, he has the habit of talking for about twenty to thirty seconds at the end and/or between the second and third verses of songs, which tends to get a little annoying after a while.



There are still some good songs on here though, like "Temptation", "Hardback (Industry)" and "U Can't Tell Me Nuffin'" (the song that inspired the album's title). Also stellar is "Wanna Be", which features help from fellow Brit Lily Allen. However, another guest spot, UGK on "Where's da G's", is ironic because everyone sounds dope EXCEPT Dizzee (and it's not because it's hard to measure up to Bun and Pimp C; Dizzee's verse is confusing anyway).



And there are a few additional missteps, like the failed club-rocker "Flex", the childish "Suk My D", and the obligatory sound about bling, "Bubbles". I also wonder what version of the album I have because I don't see "P***yole" on here (but I'm not sure I want to know what that means). Maths + English isn't a bad album, but as I said before, it's definitely not for the average listener. You might want to stream it first -- in fact, that's probably the ONLY way to get it, as it doesn't seem to be available anywhere.



Anthony Rupert"