“Boy in Da Corner” by Dizzee Rascal

It’s this week’s 20th anniversary of Dizzee Rascal’s debut, a record that galvanized and confounded hip-hop heads in equal measure.

Share

Glancing at capsule reviews of Boy in Da Corner from 2003 brought one word to the fore: strange. At the time, the hip-hop community wasn’t prepared for the breathless, dizzying stylistic collision orchestrated by the then-18-year-old emcee. Here’s this kid with a flow that’s both laid-back and laconic, smooth but sharp, effortlessly rhyming over massive beats that sounded just as at home in cramped house parties as they did roaring out of the most expensive nightclub sound system. Two decades on, and it’s clear how quietly influential this record has been for UK hip-hop artists and crossover hopefuls alike, providing a tangible blueprint for success.

As a genre, grime’s sonic melting pot is a descendant of UK garage, mixing in notes of rock, drum & bass, electro, jungle, and dancehall for good measure. In some ways, it was the exact right sound to break out when it did, coming on the heels of Sean Paul’s Dutty Rock, which opened the floodgates for international talents breaking into the Western market. Beyond his raw talent as a rapper, it’s Dizzee’s indefatigable swagger that carries most of this record, from the hit single “Fix Up, Look Sharp” to the braggadocious “Hold Ya Mouf” to the hurricane of wordplay that is “Round We Go.” Eccentric and astonishing in equal measure, Boy in Da Corner is an enduring document of hip-hop’s evolution and expansion beyond the shores of East and West Coast America.

Got thoughts on this album? Did you love it? Sound off in the comments.