Three Imaginary Girls - Dizzee Rascal

No Chiefs Allowed Tour: Busdriver, Dizzee Rascal, and El-P

Imaginary Shrie — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:44:12 +0000

19 May 2008

Underground hip hop was the first genre of independent music that I experienced. While working in the music department of a big box east Texas store, my washed-up hip-hop-o-phile boss drug me to his beat up Honda Accord on breaks to school me on DJ Shadow, Company Flow, De La Soul, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, and Jewish comedic rapper MC Paul Barman, among others. I built on those first lessons, and my boss Jeff created a lifelong hip hop fan in me.

I missed Busdriver the last few times he came through the Northwest and regretted it every time. This time I made sure my schedule was clear for the mammoth triple bill of Busdriver, Dizzee Rascal, and El-P. Neumo's has had its share of capacity and sound troubles as of late, and it admittedly is my least favorite venue in which to see a show. Neumos was sold out and there were people outside waiting for them to release more tickets, yet the back 1/3 of Neumos was nearly empty.

Busdriver, born Regan J Farquhar, was received well, though with much less enthusiasm than he was putting forth onstage. He dallied not, spitting forth his quick lyrical delivery right on target. Busdriver began rapping at age nine and it shows. His tight delivery and odd nasally voice, combined with his easy freestyling make him an interesting performer to behold. He is intensely lyrical, and the strength of his music relies on his ability to say things that really make sense, and say them very fast. He has one of the fastest flows I've seen live and he was a joy to watch perform, physically illustrating his music during the performance.

The second performer, Dizzee Rascal, packed Neumos (to its 2/3 capacity anyway). Dizzee is a British rapper and producer, melding his sound from bits of ragga, grime, rap, and MCing. Dizzee has a gruff delivery but incorporates such unconventional elements into his music as metal guitar riffs, found sounds, cheesy synth lines, and world music ranging from Africa to Asia. Dizzee bounded onstage iterating "Do you know what my name is? When I'm done here you better know my name!" and there seemed to be no one there who didn't. Typical of grime, Dizzee is one fast and frenetic rapper, jumping around and riling the crowd. He seems to feed off of the energy of the crowd, and the crowd sure as hell fed off of his, shouting the lyrics while throwing their hands up in the air. His English accent and slang make for an interesting hip hop experience but he didn't relent on energy, working the crowd up into a frenzy of bobbing heads.

The much awaited headliner El-Producto, more popularly known as El-P, finally mounted the stage amidst a couple hundred cheering fans. Half of the seminal alternative hip hop group Company Flow (the other half being Mr. Len), and co-owner, founder and CEO of big-time indie hip hop label Definitive Jux, El-P has an impressive resume. As a producer El-P has worked with Aesop Rock and Cannibal Ox, the two acts that brought Def Jux its fame, and he has worked with countless other hip hop and electronica musicians over the course of 10 years or so.

The two opening acts of the night were extremely strong, and their fans steady, but El-P put them to shame. At the helm with master DJ Mr. Dibbs, El-P cranked out old school, new school and everything in between. Heads weren't just bopping, they were banging. From the most ghetto guy to the frilliest girl, almost everyone in the club was dancing. El-P brought it last night, reaffirming my love for his new and for his older groundbreaking work. El-Producto is a force to reckon with in the hip hop world, and judging from his track record thus far, he will continue to shape the sound of independent hip hop for years to come.

The two opening acts of the night were extremely strong, and their fans steady, but El-P put them to shame.

Win tickets to see El-P, Dizzee Rascal and Busdriver at Neumos!

Imaginary Shrie — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:24:57 +0000

Hip-hop doesn't get much better than grime/ragga Brit Dizzee Rascal, former Company Flow vet El-P and gritty LA rapper Busdriver. And....

YOU CAN WIN TICKETS TO SEE THEM next Monday night at Neumos!

Best of 2007: Erik G's favorite albums

Erik Gonzalez — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:12:43 +0000

Sometimes I think it takes me waaay too long to come up with my Top 20 albums of a given year. There are a lot of internal debates and arguments that really have no right answer. Really, you reach a point where all the albums are good but how to rank them gets to be quite the challenge. This year was chock full of good music (not matter what the naysayers might groan). I counted something like 175+ albums worth mentioning in 2007, and that is only a tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything that was released in the year. However, I did whittle it down to 20... well, 22 if you count my 2 EP exception (EP's don't count as real albums).

If you're interested in some sub-lists, like my albums "with apologizes" (albums I didn't hear but should have) or "best imports" or "most disappointing" (hint, the band who made it rhymes with Milo Biley), check it out here.

So, here we go:

#21 The EP's - Two EP's made me happy this year, and really, they would be in the top 20, but it seems unfair to me to include EP's versus albums. They're both UK pop, and they're both brilliant in their own cute way.

Los Campesinos! Sticking Fingers Into Sockets (Thanks to igLiz for this band!)

Best of 2007: Erik G's favorite songs

Erik Gonzalez — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:28:01 +0000

OK, well, nobody likes to reflect and rank more than I do (I'm a scientist, I love to quantify), so here goes. I've got my favorite songs of 2007 - no, not best or most innovative, but rather the songs I liked ... lots and lots and lots. There is a little overlap from my forthcoming Best Albums, but also some curveballs. Enjoy!

Honorable Mention:

"Girls and Boys in Love" by the Rumble Strips
"Sons of Cain" by Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
"Jack the Ripper" by the Horrors (special note: If the Horrors had a brain and released the original fast demo version of this song on their debut Strange House, it would have been an easy top 10.)
"Ragoo" by Kings of Leon
"Heart It Races" by Architecture in Helsinki
"Geld Essen" by K.I.Z.

#10. "The Prayer" by Bloc Party from Weekend in the City - This song is one of the most interesting songs Bloc Party has recorded. Too bad the rest of the album (short of "Hunting for Witches") just wasn't as cool.

Best of 2007: Bob Ham's Top 10 list

Bob Ham — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:17:48 +0000

I'll toss my ratty Red Sox cap into the ring and put my top 10 list up here. Admittedly, I don't think that my selections are going to jibe with a lot of readers here, simply because my tastes tend to be a little more disjointed than most.

Here goes nothing....

10. The Gena Rowlands Band - Flesh & Spirits
9. Avey Tare/Kria Brekkan - Pullhair Rubeye
8. Grinderman - Grinderman
7. Mother and the Addicts - Science Fiction Illustrated
6. Alasdair Roberts - The Amber Gatherers
5. Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls
4. Dizzee Rascal - Maths and English
3. Von Sudenfed - Tromatic Reflexxxions
2. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
1. Dungen - Tio Bitar

Comment, agree, disagree, and/or excoriate at will.

"Sirens" by Dizzee Rascal

Erik Gonzalez — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:43:34 +0000

Currently I am in pain. I think I removed most of the skin from my knee last night playing soccer. It makes for a constant stinging pain that is exacerbated by the fact we lost. Why does this matter? Well, it is always good to have an appropriate song stuck in your head when you're playing sports. I mean, what sort of competitive anger can you build up if you have a Belle & Sebastian or Elliott Smith song in your head? None, that is how much. You suddenly feeling like asking the opposing team to tone it down about and really, all their aggression must be a sign of pent-up needs and desires. Desire to hurt me and now I'll go weep quietly to myself in the corner.

No, that won't do at all. Recently, I've been able to get "Sirens" by Dizzee Rascal stuck in my head for these sporting events, and it has done the trick. While not as aggressive as, let's say, "Jesus Built My Hot Rod" or "Old Tyme Hardcore" or "Deutscheland Has Gotta Die," it has the perfect amount of musical tension to keep your head on straight. It also helps that the song is about a competition of sorts (well, Dizzee vs. the cops), so you can feel like you're really getting into the spirit of the song and the match. It doesn't make up for getting my knee removed and losing, but hey, it's better to lose with a good song in your head than some random jingle or the like.

maths-and-english.jpg

I imagine Dizzee has more at stake than scraped knees.

Klaxons win Mercury Prize. Huh?

Erik Gonzalez — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:07:13 +0000

The Klaxons' Myths of the Near Future walked away with the 2007 Mercury Prize. For those of you who don't remember, the likes of Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys, Bats for Lashes and Dizzee Rascal were nominated, yet somehow the remarkably blah Myths of the Near Future. The Brits just keep on baffling me, I guess.

Maths + English

Erik Gonzalez — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:43:48 +0000

9.2

http://www.amazon.com/Maths-English-Dizzee-Rascal/dp/B000PC1LBK/

dizzee.jpg

Sometimes it's a crime when an album gets released in the United Kingdom with no apparent timetable for its release into the wild stateside. It's especially baffling with the new Dizzee Rascal album. Sure, his last few albums, although critically praised, never really clicked with the mainstream American hip-hop listener. Garage was just a little too British to make it on your typical “Jammin’” station and that's why you never heard the Streets or Dizzee or Wiley in the States. However, Dizzee’s new album, Maths + English is the most “American” album he’s ever made and as a result, his most decisive album to date – I mean, in this day and age, is being called “American” an insult or praise? Whether you agree with this change in Dizzee’s sound or not, you have to admit that Dizzee deserves better in the U.S., and this album could give him just that.

I have to admit, I’ve listened to Dizzee Rascal’s first few albums and appreciated them for their innovation but never really fell in love with the discs. They were influential – supposedly “Fix Up, Look Sharp” prompted Jay-Z to record “99 Problems” – but something just never clicked with me. I always felt that Dizzee’s lyrical skills were actually not a great match for the clunky, angular Garage beats (the same might be said for Mike Skinner of the Streets too). Dizzee has a quick verbal wit that needs music with the same level of energy that his lyrics provide, and the closest he’s come to the match was his song with Basement Jaxx, “Lucky Star.” But beyond “Fix Up, Look Sharp,” “I Luv U,” and “Learn,” nothing ever felt right to me on his albums. This quandary has been solved on Maths + English, but it definitely pushes Dizzee more into the mainstream than Boy in Da Corner or Showtime ever did.

Any discussion of Maths + English has to start with “Pussy’ole (Old Skool).” The track itself doesn’t actually appear on the U.S. (currently download only) version of the album, probably thanks to the prominent sample of Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock’s “It Takes Two,” but it really needs to be a part of the album. It, at the same time, pays tribute to old school hip-hop and expands it into Dizzee’s new world hip-hop and boy, do Dizzee even seem right and home in the confines of the song. Finally, we get a song that matches the lyrical intensity of Dizzee and a song that could appeal to pretty much anyone (except its lyrical content might keep it off the radio – but if David Banner can have a radio hit, anyone can).

Worry not, though, Dizzee has not abandoned his roots. The album officially opens with “World Outside,” which sounds the closest you might get to Dizzee performing with the Orb, like a dirtier version of “Little Fluffy Clouds." “Flex” is straight out of the Dizzee Rascal playbook, a straight up Garage dance gem while “Da Feelin’” has a very British pop feel to it, taking equal parts soul and dance n’ bass and producing an unique track. “Where’s Da G’s” starts much more like what people expect from Dizzee, with the garbage can beats and thick sequencer lines, but they slowly grow into an intricate trill and then, out of the blue, Bun B and Pimp C come in, transforming the song into a borderline hyphy piece.

“Paranoid” has a classical melody that is mixed with a grimy rhythm that meshes perfectly to create a claustrophobic mood – exactly what Dizzee wants. “Wanna Be” is a throwback, with the playful female vocals taunting ”So you wanna be a gangster?/tell me just one thing/what do you know about being a hard man?/your mom buys your bling.” Zing! It sounds like it could have worked on any of Dizzee’s discs but carries a little more meat on its bones than songs like “Dream” from Showtime obviously share the same musical DNA.

The big beats of “Sirens” are a departure for Dizzee, with the beats much closer to Jay-Z or the RZA (an odd cross-pollination), but you realize that Dizzee’s skills run circles around most rappers (but to keep the UK spin, nothing like a video about fox-hunting where Dizzee is the fox.) You could argue that “Bubbles” is Dizzee’s first foray into a “krunk” sound, with the simple beat and deep synthesizer line that drives the track. What falls out of the track is that Dizzee is built for the sound, leaving most of the fly-by-night southern rappers in the dust (please send hate mail to Erik Gonzalez, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC). “Bubbles” is just dirty through and through, the perfect summer cruising song (of course, you’re hearing this from a guy who drives a VW Golf, not the ideal cruising car). “Temptation” has a healthy sample from the Arctic Monkeys (now there is a UK dream team) and Dizzee takes and wraps his lyrics around the Monkeys’ guitars and vocals like they were his own. The album closes on the downright aggressive “U Can’t Tell Me Nuffin’” that almost doesn’t fit on Maths + English with its jagged and hostile beat and lyrics – yet somehow it seems the best way for Dizzee to finish.

It's hard for me to find a lot to fault on Maths + English; it just cranks out solid songs from start to finish. It might have a few tracks that just don’t click, but they seem to just fade to the background instead of derailing the disc. The real question will be whether this album can give the same notoriety that Dizzee enjoys in the UK here in the States. If anyone deserves a break, it’s Dizzee and now that he’s put together his most polished and accessible disc to date, and you can’t help but root for him. In any case, if you’ve tried Dizzee Rascal before and just didn’t get it, here is your chance to be reacquainted.

Maths + English is the most “American” album Dizzee Rascal has ever made and as a result, his most decisive album to date ...

Mercury Prize nominees announced

Erik Gonzalez — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 20:06:11 +0000

Yes, it is that time of year for the baffling and somewhat odd Mercury Prize. Nominees for this year's award were announced today, and here they are.

NME Hits for July 9

Erik Gonzalez — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 03:59:20 +0000

For this week's NME update, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs take #1, but there are three new songs for us to enjoy...