by Lauren JacobsSince Dizzee won the Mercury Prize in 2003 all sorts of questions have been raised regarding his credibility, and whether he has, in his words, “stayed true to his grammar”, leaving behind the world of pirate radio stations. Well, money and fame are difficult things to avoid, (for some), although his new album, Maths + English still offers insights into life on the streets and his rise to fame. The one difference seems to have been the new fans he has picked up on the way. He became the first rapper ever to win the aforementioned award which led to him gaining the respect of the NME and edgy Guardian types.
This was evident looking round the newly refurbished “Carling Academy”, lots of skinny jeans and pointy shoe types hanging out at the back looking like they were there for the irony of it all, or would have been if they understood what irony meant. But it appears that Dizzee’s use of the English language still maintains some of its authenticity as there were also 15 year old “yoots” in hoodies. Oh, and girls that obviously wanted to try and get off with Dizzee later, judging by their leaving nothing to the imagination outfits.
The rapper himself appeared to revel in this melting pot of fans, playing up his main-stream recognition when playing his track featuring the Artic Monkeys, ‘Temptation’, from Maths + English. His DJ proceeded to play the Kaiser Chiefs and the White Stripes as a brief interlude. But his roots in Grime and Jungle also shone through with another interlude featuring Shy FX’s ‘Original Nuttah’, which all the hooded heads bopped to, then playing his new track ‘Old Skool’ for emphasis.
The overall performance was of high energy and crowd-pleasing, harking back to his days as a garage MC doing club nights. But the presentation was slick and carefully thought out, with his videos playing on plasma TV screens syncing with the songs. It appears Mr Rascal’s grammar is indeed true, it just happens to have had elocution lessons.
