Sound: With his thick, East London accent, Dizzee Rascal spits and squawks his most confrontational and urgent rhymes yet as he calls out fake gangstas and boasts about his street cred. Though synthesized, electro beats are prominent on Maths & English, it has a much less Euro, dance feel than his previous two albums. Instead, it has a more raw, underground, American hip hop vibe and successfully dabbles in Stateside mainstream sounds like bass-heavy, nu-metal rap (“Sirens”) and anthemic gangsta rap (“Where’s Da G’s”). But he also has two decidedly British collaborations with Lily Allen and Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “Where’s Da G’s” featuring UGK; “Sirens”; “Wanna Be” f/Lily Allen; “Bubbles”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Temptation” featuring Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys; “Flex”; “Hard Back (Industry)”
Recommended: Dizzee Rascal has always shown impressive mic skills and the ambition to explore new musical ground, but Maths & English is his most eclectic set yet. It’s also his most accessible and complete album. It will surely be one of the most exciting hip hop releases of the year (in the U.S…it was released in the UK last year).
Grade: A- (Top 20 Albums of 2008 Candidate)

Listen to Tracks/Buy Music:
On iTunes
On amazon.com