Showtime (Dizzee Rascal album)

Showtime is the second studio album by grime artist Dizzee Rascal, released on 6 September 2004[1][2][3] and 14 September in the United States. As of May 2007, the album has sold over 16,000 units in the United States—a decline on his debut album, Boy in da Corner, which sold 58,000.[4] It has also been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling over 100,000 copies.

Showtime
Studio album by
Released6 September 2004
Recorded2003–2004
GenreGrime, hip hop
Length51:00
Label
Producer
Dizzee Rascal chronology
Boy in da Corner
(2003)
Showtime
(2004)
Maths + English
(2007)
Singles from Showtime
  1. "Stand Up Tall"
    Released: 23 August 2004
  2. "Dream"
    Released: 8 November 2004
  3. "Off 2 Work"/"Graftin'"
    Released: 21 March 2005

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic87/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [6]
Blender     [7]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[8]
The Guardian     [9]
Mojo     [10]
NME9/10[11]
Pitchfork8.6/10[12]
Q     [13]
Rolling Stone     [14]
SpinA−[15]

Showtime received critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 87 based on 28 reviews indicating "universal acclaim".[5] AllMusic gave the album 4 and half stars out of 5 and wrote, "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".[6] Rolling Stone gave the album 3+12 stars out of 5 stating that "These are Rascal's most accessible beats to date".[14] The Village Voice gave the album a favourable review, calling it a "brash, dazzling dispatch from a parallel universe" and Billboard also gave a positive review of the album, remarking that "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".

Scott Plagenhoef from Pitchfork felt that "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".[12] PopMatters gave the album 9/10, opining that "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".[16] The Guardian gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying "Beyond his trademark agitated yelp and panic-attack rhythms are all manner of surprising and compelling sonic twists".[9] NME gave the album 9/10, stating that "Lyrically it's astonishing" and Spin gave it a 9/10 saying it is "At its core, Showtime is a classic second album in the hip-hop sense: puffy with bluster, brimming with indignation".[11][15] Alternative Press gave the album 5 out of 5 stars, writing that "It's the urgency of [Dizzee's] brash Brit patois that dares you not to decipher it". Mojo gave a very favourable review to the album, saying that "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".[10]

Track listing

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Showtime track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Showtime"2:12
2."Stand Up Tall"3:09
3."Everywhere"3:46
4."Graftin'"3:25
5."Learn"3:21
6."Hype Talk"3:05
7."Face" (featuring Caramel)3:39
8."Respect Me"4:45
9."Get By" (featuring Vanya)3:24
10."Knock, Knock"3:27
11."Dream"3:18
12."Girls" (featuring Marga Man)3:32
13."Imagine"2:54
14."Flyin'"3:26
15."Fickle"4:01
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
16."Give U More"3:24

Charts

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Chart performance for Showtime
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Irish Albums (IRMA)[17] 65
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 8

References

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  1. ^ "Award".
  2. ^ Richards, Debra. "BBC – Music – Review of Dizzee Rascal – Showtime". BBC. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Dizzee Rascal – Showtime | Albums". MusicOMH. 5 September 2004. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  4. ^ Martens, Todd (23 May 2007). New Dizzee Rascal Goes Digital-Only In U.S.. Billboard. Accessed 21 May 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Reviews for Showtime by Dizzee Rascal". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  6. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Showtime – Dizzee Rascal". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  7. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (October 2004). "Dizzee Rascal: Showtime". Blender (30): 112. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  8. ^ Browne, David (17 September 2004). "Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned / Showtime / Wet from Birth". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  9. ^ a b Lynskey, Dorian (27 August 2004). "Dizzee Rascal, Showtime". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Dizzee Rascal: Showtime". Mojo (131): 104. October 2004.
  11. ^ a b "Dizzee Rascal: Showtime". NME: 55. 28 August 2004.
  12. ^ a b Plagenhoef, Scott (7 September 2004). "Dizzee Rascal: Showtime". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Dizzee Rascal: Showtime". Q (218): 112. September 2004.
  14. ^ a b Sinagra, Laura (30 September 2004). "Dizzee Rascal: Showtime". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  15. ^ a b Caramanica, Jon (November 2004). "Dizzee Rascal: Showtime". Spin. 20 (11): 107–09. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  16. ^ "Music Reviews, Features, Essays, News, Columns, Blogs, MP3s and Videos – PopMatters". PopMatters.
  17. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Dizzee Rascal". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2019.