> Switch to Advanced Search

New & Current Releases
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Music In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

60 31Knots
82 Abe Vigoda
71 The Academy Is...
53 The Airborne Toxic Event
79 Alias
77 Theresa Andersson
76 Apollo Sunshine
47 The Automatic
79 Azeda Booth
75 Joan Baez
84 Bajofondo
56 David Banner
76 The Baseball Project
77 Beck
77 Black Affair
59 Black Ghosts
74 Black Kids
79 Blitzen Trapper
74 Bodies Of Water
70 Brazilian Girls
72 Brightblack Morning Light
66 The Broken West
50 Buckcherry
78 Lindsey Buckingham
90 The Bug
56 Caesars
78 Calexico
70 Glen Campbell
70 Brendan Canning
63 Cats In Paris
74 The Chemical Brothers
65 Cold War Kids
69 Alice Cooper
79 Rodney Crowell
63 CSS
67 Miley Cyrus
46 Dandy Warhols
65 Kimya Dawson
73 Dead Confederate
72 Death Vessel
74 Delta Spirit
79 Damien Dempsey
78 Ani DiFranco
58 DJ Khaled
66 The Donkeys
72 Dr. Dog
80 DragonForce
78 The Duhks
77 Dungen
73 Brian Eno + David Byrne
62 The Faint
67 The Fiery Furnaces
63 Ben Folds
64 iForward, Russia!
72 Friendly Fires
71 Fujiya & Miyagi
65 The Game
74 Inara George With Van Dyke Parks
74 Giant Sand
79 Girl Talk
83 Glasvegas
61 Golden Animals
64 Mike Gordon
68 Gym Class Heroes
78 GZA
66 Neil Halstead
64 Albert Hammond, Jr.
72 Juliana Hatfield
61 Hawthorne Heights
81 High Places
77 High Places
76 Zach Hill
85 The Hold Steady
83 David Holmes
80 Horse Feathers
74 Howling Hex
58 Jennifer Hudson
71 Human Highway
70 Ice Cube
66 Ida Maria
68 Jack's Mannequin
69 Jaguar Love
73 James
81 Jamey Johnson
70 Jonas Brothers
78 Damien Jurado
83 Kasai Allstars
57 Kerli
89 B.B. King
65 Kings Of Leon
67 Ladyhawke
73 Leila
54 Levellers
74 Jenny Lewis
76 Lykke Li
82 Lindstrom
72 Little Jackie
60 The Little Ones
57 LL Cool J
60 Lloyd
60 The Lord Dog Bird
85 Patty Loveless
76 John Mellencamp
71 The Melvins
70 Mercury Rev
77 Metallica
71 Metronomy
74 Mirah
75 Mogwai
64 Motorhead
66 Mugison
78 Nico Muhly
74 Murs
84 The Music Tapes
71 Nas
65 Nelly
79 Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis
50 New Kids On The Block
77 The New Year
85 Randy Newman
80 Ne-Yo
57 Nightmares On Wax
68 The Nightwatchman
78 Nine Inch Nails
62 Noah And The Whale
67 Oasis
75 Conor Oberst
78 Okkervil River
76 Old Crow Medicine Show
80 One Day As A Lion
75 Oneida
73 Joan Osborne
75 Oxford Collapse
85 Paavoharju
78 Amanda Palmer
65 Parenthetical Girls
89 Aaron Parks
73 Lee "Scratch" Perry
51 Kellie Pickler
70 Pivot
58 Plain White T's
89 Plush
64 Primal Scream
50 Pussycat Dolls
75 Ra Ra Riot
71 Ratatat
62 Re-Up Gang
62 Rex The Dog
76 Roots Manuva
71 Darius Rucker
72 The Rumble Strips
81 Raphael Saadiq
57 Sam Champion
73 Scars On Broadway
81 Pete Seeger
70 Ron Sexsmith
68 The Shaky Hands
39 Shwayze
58 Jessica Simpson
69 Slipknot
80 Patti Smith and Kevin Shields
73 Solange
69 Son, Ambulance
65 Rick Springfield
65 Staind
47 Stereo MC's
72 Stereolab
71 The Stills
73 The Subways
83 Sugarland
70 Matthew Sweet
74 T.I.
72 Robin Thicke
71 Thievery Corporation
77 Irma Thomas
79 Tindersticks
71 Tittsworth
90 Shugo Tokumaru
74 Emiliana Torrini
67 James Jackson Toth
72 Randy Travis
69 Tricky
89 TV On The Radio
78 The Uglysuit
92 Underoath
56 UNKLE
61 David Vandervelde
77 Chad VanGaalen
71 The Verve
76 Volcano!
68 Loudon Wainwright III
80 The Walkmen
66 Ben Weaver
83 The Week That Was
77 Paul Weller
70 Brian Wilson
76 Wire
63 XX Teens
71 Young Jeezy
55 Yung Berg

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Showtime
by Dizzee Rascal


8.3

based on 28 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 18 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The UK rapper follows his Mercury Music Prize-winning debut 'Boy In The Corner' with this sophomore release.

LABEL:	Beggars Banquet / XL
RELEASE DATE:	14 September 2004
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Rap

NOTES: Includes a bonus DVD with videos.

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Alternative Press

It's the urgency of [Dizzee's] brash Brit patois that dares you not to decipher it. [Jan 2005, p.114]

100

Mojo

What Dizzee Rascal has done with this record is find his own - profoundly satisfying - balance between grime's digital vortex of ringtones and car alarms and an older more contemplative electronic tradition. [Oct 2004, p.104]

Lost At Sea

One of the finest pieces of pop music to drop this decade.

Spin

At its core, Showtime is a classic sophomore album in the hip-hop sense: puffy with bluster, brimming with indignation. [Nov 2004, p.107]

The Guardian

Beyond his trademark agitated yelp and panic-attack rhythms are all manner of surprising and compelling sonic twists.

PopMatters

Aside from a couple of hiccups (the clunky R&B of "Get By", the silly call and response of "Knock Knock"), it's every bit as good as Boy in da Corner, and sometimes even better.

New Musical Express

Lyrically it's astonishing. [28 Aug 2004, p.55]

All Music Guide

If Showtime isn't the equal artistic success of Boy in da Corner, it's slightly superior, stunning for the facts that it arrives so swiftly after the debut and is far from a retread.

Austin Chronicle

With Showtime, the very idea of diagramming a single line is enough to cause black wormholes to open in the listener's mind – quantum physics by way of South London slang.

ShakingThrough.net

Whereas Boy In Da Corner was the sound of a young man expressing the fear and frustration of growing up in a dangerous and bleak environment, Showtime reflects the confidence and ebullience of a maturing artist optimistically embracing a bright and hopeful future.

Pitchfork

The album naturally lacks the shock of the new, the jolt of Boy in Da Corner-- instead, it's a consolidation of his strengths, lyrically and sonically, and a more satisfying listen than its predecessor.

RapReviews.com

Do NOT approach this as a rap album, or you will be perplexed to no end. This is cerebral, intricate and inventive electronically-based music that is certainly hip-hop in ethic and inspiration, but channelled through a uniquely British conduit, interpreted by one of the more intriguing urban poets of recent times.

Filter

Try as you might, there's no pushin it out. [#12, p.101]

cokemachineglow

While Showtime has one or two more duds than its shock-assault of a predecessor, its continued siege is of essentially comparable caliber.

Playlouder

Bottom line: One dimensional ghetto fodder this is not.

Q Magazine

Seems to focus more on Dizzee's virtuosity as a producer than a rapper, and teems with exotic noises, odd rhythmic loops and unexpected shifts in mood. [Sep 2004, p.112]

Stylus Magazine

Significantly altering the sound that won him critical praise and sold a quarter of a million albums takes some nerve. And that's what Showtime is about: Dizzee's newfound confidence.

Splendid

Dizzee's voice still sounds like a helium-inflected hiccup, and the beats still sound like they were recorded directly from a Nintendo, if not an Atari.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

A fattened-up answer to 2003's Boy In Da Corner, Showtime finds Rascal brooding over matters great and small without sounding overly ponderous or somber.

Neumu.net

It's a disc in which Dizzee diz, lyrical wiz, is more forthright as lyricist, using the blank canvas of an "album" to sketch together a thoughtful, carefully-sequenced set in which his voice, and its elastic accent, ring clear.

New York Magazine

On Showtime, Dizzee doesn’t give up his sonic adventurousness, but he is a lot more disciplined about it.

Urb

[A] solid sophomore effort. [Nov 2004, p.98]

Village Voice

A brash, dazzling dispatch from a parallel universe.

Blender

Some of Dizzee's insecurity is replaced by newfound swagger. But swagger works, too. [Oct 2004, p.112]

Billboard

This is hip-hop for another era, one that makes the present day commercial U.S. material seem even more flat than it already is.

Rolling Stone

These are Rascal's most accessible beats to date. [30 Sep 2004, p.186]

Entertainment Weekly

These barren videogame shoot-out beats and textures don't do him justice. [17 Sep 2004, p.76]

Dusted Magazine

Showtime’s length dilutes the bursts of exotic spice and flavor laced throughout.

The average user rating for this album is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Pelicaine gave it a9:
This CD is another great package from Dizzee. Although I enjoyed the beats more on Boy in Da Corner, these beats are more varied. He carries on the Showtime theme throughout the album, as opposed to just making a bunch of interchangeable song found on a lot of hip-hop albums today. All in all, not as impressive as ...Corner, but recommended to its fans. Here's looking toward Maths and English......

Andy S gave it a10:
u cant stop dis boi is gotta phat voice and e's beats so catchy get em sme gd tunes 2 roll deep 2

Michael R gave it a9:
Fuckin goog but not as good as boy in da corner.Some good beats and still superb lyrics.Slightly more mainstream but it is still a class act. 'mone the rascal.

Andreas gave it a9:
The boy is crazy, but the result is awesome music. Dizzee is 10 years ahead off the rest, and this is as future as you get it. The beats is off the hook, and you will discover many different layers in his lyrical universe as you explore it. My favorite songs is "Face", "Respect me" and "Learn".

S Gold gave it a10:
Best rap album of 2004, no question. All people can talk about is Mike Skinner but Dizzee is twice as talented and this album is as good as his debut if not better.

Jamie K gave it a10:
Very heavy fucking phat beats nuffin can stop dis man blad has been able to rise out of the grime to becom a wel nown mc big up to him

Zac gave it a 7:
Good Lyrics, SHIT beats, they're that bad...... sound so unprofessional....... come on, ur can afford better equipment!! VERY AVERAGE BEATS...

Showtime by Dizzee Rascal

Showtime
by Dizzee Rascal