Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 23/07/07
Label: V2

In the year that should have seen grime breaking through into its imperial phase of mainstream massive album sales, it seems to have faltered. Wiley's album, although well received by critics, is said to be his last - the scene Godfather tiring of constantly having to look over his shoulder. Dizzee Rascal, easily one of the best rappers this country has ever produced, had his first hiccough with third LP "Maths + English", which saw him reinvented as an East London Jay-Z, with patchy results. Now it's the turn of the third of the triumvirate of grime titans, Lethal Bizzle, who seems to be the powerhouse capable of pushing the genre forward.

Young Max Ansah first burst onto the East London scene as part of the incendiary More Fire Crew in the first years of the naughties, breaking out with the party starting "Oi!". He then went on to release the hectic "Pow! Forward!", a song which provoked such a rambunctious response from fans it reputedly got banned from every garage venue in Essex. "Back To Bizznizz" doesn't, unfortunately, contain anything as genre defining as either of these cuts but there is still much to recommend it.

After the pseudo-Baroque call and response old school grime battle rhyming of "Mr", we hit current single "Bizzle Bizzle", a Ritalin-deprived, ego-maniacal hurtle through a million reasons why - guess who - is better than everyone else on the scene, over a bass line that sounds like a Decepticon malfunctioning. While Dizzee Rascal is busy slagging off former mate Wiley on latest single "Pussy Ole (Old Skool)", The Bizz is aiming his guns higher in the direction of politics, saving up particular bile for David Cameron ("a f*cking arse") after the wannabe PM foolishly launched into a campaign against grime lyrics. Sadly, the version included here isn't the thumping reworking by UK hardcore punk superstars Gallows.

Elsewhere it's the over reliance on guest stars that perhaps lets "Back To Bizznizz" down. Kate Nash simply sounds far too nice to be convincing on "Look What You Done", which isn't a match for Dizzee's classic "I Luv U", and the less said about the tramp-like inclusion of Babyshambles the better. Doherty's band crop up on "Boy", an East London skiffle number with a cautionary tale of getting sent to Pentonville. But Pete-watchers will be disappointed to learn that the troubled singer himself doesn't even feature. Instead the vocal sparring is provided by old 'Shambles associate, The General.

But there are many highlights here, with Bizzle on particularly acid sharp form with the car thieving expedition gone wrong of "Police On My Back" and the self-merking comedy of "Selfridges Girl Not On MySpace". All in all this is a funny, lyrically sharp and exciting record which falls just short of opening an essential new chapter in grime.

    by John Doran