Dizzee Rascal - 'Old Skool'
If you were born later than, say 1987, you may not recognise the "Whoo! Yeh!" sample at the heart of this tune. But once upon a time, around 1989-91, it was a legal requirement that every single song in the Top 40 which did not feature loud electric guitars (which at the time, meant every single song in the Top 40) heavily featured this exact loop. It was like all other forms of music had just ceased to exist, for a whole year. And it was BRILLIANT, until it got VERY BORING.
Now it's back, and it's smack dab in the middle of the second installment of...well, it sort of feels like a comeback, I s'pose. There definitely seems to have been a change for Mr Rascal and his chart-bound musical output. Where once it was all 'novelty-hop' and pretending it's dead daring for a rapper to sample musical theatre (c'mon, as if Jay-Z's worst musical ideas are worth revisiting in any way, shape or form), now there's renewed purpose, a clearer-eye, and better source material to back up the Dizzee word-play.
'Sirens' was brilliant because it fused scary street paranoia with the spirit of nasty old metal (and extra added funky drums), and now there's this, reminding all comers that hip hop used to be music to do ecstatic dancing to, rather than that endless can-barely-move head-nod thing.
From a mainstream music perspective, this resurrection of the feral scree of Public Enemy (Dizzee even dresses like Flavor Flav in the video, or at least, I think he does. All he needs is the massive clock and he's there), brought up to date by the addition of ear-scraping crunk synths, feels really fresh and new. And this is true even though a) clearly it's not and b) chances are that you experts in modern UK hip hop are all rolling your eyes and muttering that this is the twelvety-fifth time that THAT sample has been used in the last MONTH, DAMMIT.
But stuff it, it works. The boy Rascal is finally ditching that patronising 'Most Likely To' status in favour of 'Oh Look! He Actually IS'. And if he has to plunder hip hop's golden era in order to do that, then it's all to the good.
Can I put in a bid for 'Hear The Drummer Get Wicked' next time? Or maybe 'Slam' by Onyx? That would rule!
Download: Out now
CD Released: July 30th
(Fraser McAlpine)
Comments
One hates to come on like a curmudgeon but, and it's a big but, playing someone elses record in the background while shouting loudly over the top is not music.
Well, actually, one aspires to be a curmudgeon, but ones appreciation for good music keeps on getting in the way.
To summarise, this song is utter mince.
Where's Chuck D when you need him.
[Chuck D? Of Public Enemy? Renowned rap act who used to play bits of other people's records and shout over the top of them? No idea... - Fraser]
Remember sarcasm?
I do.
As it says in Encyclopedia Dramatica
"The lingua franca of the Internets. Sarcasm is great because it allows you to be critical of something without actually exposing your opinion on the subject. Also, it helps depersonalize the subject of criticism, which is important if you want to be really, really cruel and insulting.
The birth of sarcasm evolved in Britain during Victorian times as a result of everyone being so bloody polite to each other that it was almost impossible to have a heated debate.
Suddenly one could pretend to admire the gallery of stuffed heads on a colleague's wall and say "Really? you managed to hit a 25 foot hippo with an elephant gun at 20 metres with the help of just three servants and twelve Maasai warriors? How impressive!" And, to get the slightest of smirks from perhaps your butler and wife (who were probably the same person, who knows how they bred in those days) after a few decades it had become quite fashionable."
My education is takin you for a long ride
Ill have you brain slip and do the slide
Glide into infinity, its infinite
With your hands in your pockets
I know your money is spent
Like this, like that, butter for the fat
If you kill my dog, ima slay your cat
Its like that yall, can you handle it son
Im public enemy number one
Word.