this is not what I expected at all...

...but for all that, I'm so glad. Fluxblog is hosting a track from the new Dizzee Rascal album, Dream and it's awesome. And far from being clattering and obtuse like I had imagined, it's sparse and lovely, Dizzee seemingly learning a thing or two from Wiley's approachability and spinning a bright, intelligent rap around the sample from Captain Sensible's Happy Talk. It's part of that wondeful tradition of hip hop cuts which tell the story of the rapper's rise to fame, although it's anything but self-aggrandising. Matthew Fluxblog compares the track to one of hip hop's finest moments, Biggie's Juicy (Vic's favourite song, fact fans), but it reminds me of another great UK track - the criminally under-rated Blak Twang's Ain't Done Too Bad from his excellent 'Kik Off' LP, where he raps something like the following (transcribed from memory, alas):

"I used to claim benefits every fortnight,
do some part time cash-in-hand chores for a couple of scores
in stores, where the managers were always white,
the customers were always right and employees always fight.
In spite of the madness, man still had some jokes,
checking girls in my tight black strides and long coat,
lame shoes, cheap dicky bow tie, name badge and paper hat."

Here, Dizzee raps:

"I used to dream about crazy little things like fame
in the days hanging outside the off license.
We used to run around the streets, reckless with no shame,
mainly up to no good, a whole world of nonsense.
And when the girls walked by we would try to catch their eye
and if they didn’t show a face we would act immature…
A coupla west girls on my radar – I was raw."


Lyrically excellent, engagingly good-hearted and so simple you can't believe no one has done it before, the track is just (oh god, I can't resist the pun) dreamy.

Fluxblog Is Not Essing Around: Dream