OK, OK, it’s been out ages.
But supposing you were like me and hadn’t really had time to track back and find out about Dizzee Rascal. Maybe you're not too sure about UK hip hop. A bit worried that dipping your toe in might get you drowned.
Well, worry. Because you will. This is brilliant music with very sharp cultural teeth. Buy the single now to check – "Off 2 Work" isn’t on the album, so you can look forward to buying that next if you do go under. Luckily you'll also have a video to go with album track "Graftin'" which is on CD2 – plus a computer-gameish remix of "Off 2 Work".
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"Off 2 Work" is a brilliantly warped allusion to Disney's "Hi Ho, Hi Ho" Seven Dwarf thing (with mutant whistling at the beginning and nods to the song's sarcastic appropriation by low paid workers throughout). It’s edgy, intelligent, inventive, sparkling. Just like Dizzee Rascal. Graftin' is a "bigger" work and much scarier. The video echoes hip hop clichés, but puts them with real people in real London places. This is what pop music is about. This is what we want.
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