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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
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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