Dizzee goes for fun

Dizzee Rascal has it backward.

The traditional career path for an iconic recording artist dictates that he or she start off doing frivolous, fun-loving music, then gradually begin introducing more serious, socially conscious themes.

Apparently, Dizzee didn't get that memo. The London-based emcee, whose music bears the influence of hip-hop but also utilizes less commercial genres like grime, electro and dancehall, started out his career speaking truth to power. Dizzee released his debut, 2003's "Boy in da Corner," at the age of 17, and stood the music world on its ear with harrowing rhymes that vividly exposed the hopeless conditions of English ghettoes.

However, as Dizzee has become more famous (largely in his home country), he's begun taking his music in a more crowd-pleasing, lighthearted direction. The overt pop bid is clearly paying dividends, as Dizzee's just-released fourth album, "Tongue N' Cheek," has already produced three No. 1 UK singles.

It's easy to tsk-tsk Dizzee Rascal's decision to eschew street reportage for party starting -- assuming you're a humorless clod who thinks Dizzee has an obligation to be a spokesman for his generation. The rest of us will enjoy the way Dizzee's slippery, slangy flow slides across ridiculously extroverted jams like "Bonkers," "Holiday" and especially the unstoppable "Dirtee Cash," which perfectly samples an early-'90s house music classic.

You'd be very hard-pressed to name 10 (maybe even five) artists who have put together a more impressive resume in the 2000s. Considering he's still only 23, it's safe to say Dizzee still has plenty of time to record more "serious" music if he so desires. In the meantime, he's made one of the most enjoyable pop albums of 2009.

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