Express & Star

Dizzee Rascal, O2 Academy Birmingham - review

Dizzee Rascal is a pioneer of the grime genre and his influence on the music industry cannot be ignored.

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He's jus' a rascal - Dizzie with fans. Picture: Emma Turner Photography

Earlier this year, after a decade of chasing the charts with pop collaborations, he made a long awaited return to the scene with new record Raskit.

Taking a break from clashing with Wiley on Twitter, the London rapper brought his UK tour to the O2 Academy in Birmingham last night.

While the venue was packed, it was fair to say the crowd was diverse – with many turning out to witness his iconic Boy In Da Corner classics while others were there to bounce about to his chart toppers.

Before going pop, Rascal – real name Dylan Mills – changed the face of the music industry and while some say he may have sold-out, he has quite happily stood clear of the grime industry over the years.

This time, he kicked off with Space and Ghost off the new record before smashing into debut single I Luv U – the first tune he dropped at just 18.

He worked through much of the new album with I Ain’t Even Gonna Lie and Wot U Gonna Do before treating us to the early classics of Jus’ A Rascal and Fix Up, Look Sharp.

His energy on stage is something else, with the audience going into frenzy for Business Man and Bop ‘n Keep It Dippin.

The 17 song set comes to a close as he returns with his most notable radio hits. Over the years he’s worked with some unexpected people – even Robbie Williams – with Chase and Status collab Heavy going down positively.

“Big dirty stinking bass, dirty stinking bass” signals the frankly ridiculous Bassline Junkie before leaving the stage on Dance Wiv Me.

Dizzee returns to take Birmingham “to the south of France likes Cannes” for the Holiday encore and that was that.

With the varied mix of genres throughout the night, no doubt some preferred certain parts than others – but no-one left the venue without enjoying themselves.

Let’s just hope his work in the future is much the same as Raskit – ‘cause he’s actually pretty good at it.