Diggedy Derek
Stray Dog
Dizzee- Showtime is simply phenomenal, yet it can sound a pretty humourless record. Even when there are jokes, they seem calculated for maximum dissing effect. Compare Dizzee's Hype Talk, where he takes a list of rumours and slews that have been made him and coldly rams it back down his opponent's throat, and Wiley's answer Dylan's On A Hype Thing, where Wiley reflects on the strife in Ayia Napa with palpable, heartbreaking intensity. It's like Dizzee's determined to demonstrate his iron nerve to the people, while Wiley wants to share his experience. Perhaps Showtime, with it's constant battle to make them "learn" and "respect", is caught in a similar neverending battle for reputation as Mobb Deep's classic The Infamous. That doesn't lessen it's status, far from it, but it's tough listening.
Wiley- I liked Treddin' On Thin Ice a lot, I thought it had charm, wit and strong beats (it got a bit dissed at the time for not having many experimental instrumentals, but give me vocals anyday). And yet it tried to bite off more than it could chew, every track had to fit into his concept of the album, and it sounds a bit stilted, not as fresh as it should be. A strange debut really. Whereas Dizzee's I'd recommend to anybody, I think with Wiley you need to know where he's coming from. Anyone else feel this same strange sense of liking the album, yet having to explain it to people?
Wiley- I liked Treddin' On Thin Ice a lot, I thought it had charm, wit and strong beats (it got a bit dissed at the time for not having many experimental instrumentals, but give me vocals anyday). And yet it tried to bite off more than it could chew, every track had to fit into his concept of the album, and it sounds a bit stilted, not as fresh as it should be. A strange debut really. Whereas Dizzee's I'd recommend to anybody, I think with Wiley you need to know where he's coming from. Anyone else feel this same strange sense of liking the album, yet having to explain it to people?