By Jesse Cataldo

The biggest dichotomy between mainstream and “indie” rap music has to be the subject matter and lyrical content of the material. You won’t find any artist on the Def Jux label releasing an entire album about 40s, blunts and hoes. Conversely, the chances of hearing Lil Jon utter the word pedagogue, or 50 Cent address the issue of homelessness are slim to none. With his debut album Boy In Da Corner, 18-year-old British phenomenon Dizzee Rascal seeks to bridge this gap, presenting an album that manages to be intelligent while still being wholly accessible.

Boy In Da Corner is most comparable to The Streets’ Original Pirate Material. Both are backed by electronica inspired “garage” beats, and both exude the personas of street MCs, untouched by the excesses and frivolities of mainstream hip hop culture. Not coincidentally, they also both happen to hail from Great Britain. The main difference between the two, however, is apparently the fact that Dizzee can actually rap. Skinner’s awkward and unbalanced delivery is presented as a stylistic trait, but is done so to mask his inability to maintain a cohesive flow. Dizzee spits out his words with a smoldering intensity, all the while mired in a Cockney accent thicker than a serving of Yorkshire pudding.

The production is nothing fancy or extravagant, usually nothing more than electronic beeps and boops, or skittering drum machine taps. It fits, and provides a fine background to Dizzee’s words, but at times ends up sounding slightly bare. Of course, a fuller production would diminish the personal, basement recorded feel of the album, but one wonders at which point that becomes expendable. In keeping with the sound, many of the tracks sound glaringly similar, differentiated only by voiceovers and the variety of his delivery.

Even with all the positives of the album, the real selling point has to be the accents. From Dizzee himself, to the guest rappers, the British accents make everything seem just a little classier. When the backing voice on “He’s Jus a Rascal” repeatedly delivers the line of the same name, it sounds more like a swanky London musical than a rap song. Things don’t get much better than that.