- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Alternative PressIt's the urgency of [Dizzee's] brash Brit patois that dares you not to decipher it. [Jan 2005, p.114]
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MojoWhat 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]
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One of the finest pieces of pop music to drop this decade.
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SpinAt its core, Showtime is a classic sophomore album in the hip-hop sense: puffy with bluster, brimming with indignation. [Nov 2004, p.107]
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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.
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Beyond his trademark agitated yelp and panic-attack rhythms are all manner of surprising and compelling sonic twists.
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New Musical Express (NME)Lyrically it's astonishing. [28 Aug 2004, p.55]
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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FilterTry as you might, there's no pushin it out. [#12, p.101]
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While Showtime has one or two more duds than its shock-assault of a predecessor, its continued siege is of essentially comparable caliber.
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On Showtime, Dizzee doesn’t give up his sonic adventurousness, but he is a lot more disciplined about it.
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Urb[A] solid sophomore effort. [Nov 2004, p.98]
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A brash, dazzling dispatch from a parallel universe.
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BlenderSome of Dizzee's insecurity is replaced by newfound swagger. But swagger works, too. [Oct 2004, p.112]
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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.
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Bottom line: One dimensional ghetto fodder this is not.
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Q MagazineSeems 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]
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Rolling StoneThese are Rascal's most accessible beats to date. [30 Sep 2004, p.186]
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Entertainment WeeklyThese barren videogame shoot-out beats and textures don't do him justice. [17 Sep 2004, p.76]
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Showtime’s length dilutes the bursts of exotic spice and flavor laced throughout.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 28 out of 34
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Mixed: 2 out of 34
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Negative: 4 out of 34
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AndySAug 8, 2006u cant stop dis boi is gotta phat voice and e's beats so catchy get em sme gd tunes 2 roll deep 2
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PelicaineOct 28, 2006
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MichaelRFeb 9, 2006