People have been asking where’s Dizzee Rascal since grime’s second wave started in 2014. The idea’s always been that he could pop up at any moment and either take what’s rightfully his, by emulating ‘Boy In Da Corner’, or stick it out with Calvin Harris, which seemed to be how things were when the pair released ‘Hype’ last year.
Now Dizzee is properly back, with new album ‘Raskit’ coming July 21st, and ‘Space’ the first track from it.
‘Hype’ wasn’t the option most of us were after in 2016, but thinking about it, Rascal’s refusal to retreat to old school grime is a smart move. ‘Space’ isn’t quite either version of Dizzee Rascal that we’ve seen before, and suggests that ‘Raskit’ is going to offer up something different for UK hip-hop.
“The idea of trying to be my 17 year old self again just because everyone thinks grime’s landed in their lap this week didn’t satisfy me,” he says. “I wanted to use what I’ve learned to make the best rap album I could, with no hands in the air moments, just using as much English slang as I could over the best beats I could find.”
