''Showtime'' is the second studio album by
grime
Grime may refer to:
* Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust
Music
* Grime music, a genre of music
* ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity
* "Grime", a 2023 song by Macklemore from ''Ben''
* "Grime", a 2024 song by Kittie from ''Fire
...
artist
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...
, released on 6 September 2004 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
''Boy in da Corner'' is the debut studio album by English rapper and producer Dizzee Rascal. It was first released on 21 July 2003 by XL Recordings in the United Kingdom before being released the following year in the United States.
A widespread ...
'', which sold 58,000. It has also been certified Gold by the
British Phonographic Industry
BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) for selling over 100,000 copies.
Critical reception
''Showtime'' received critical acclaim from music critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, 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".
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
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".
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' gave the album stars out of 5 stating that "These are Rascal's most accessible beats to date".
''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' gave the album a favourable review, calling it a "brash, dazzling dispatch from a parallel universe" and ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' 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
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' 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".
''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' 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".
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' 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".
''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' gave the album 9/10, stating that "Lyrically it's astonishing" and ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles
* Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' 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".
''
Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...
'' gave the album 5 out of 5 stars, writing that "It's the urgency of
izzee'sbrash Brit patois that dares you not to decipher it". ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi
* '' ...
'' 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".
Track listing
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Showtime
2004 albums
Dizzee Rascal albums
XL Recordings albums