Dizzee Rascal - Kendal Calling 2012 review

'He commands the crowds'

Jamie Barker - 29 July 2012

Someone needs to tell Dizzee Rascal that he should have a word with his typographer. His new banner might look cool, but it reads 'Dizzee Roolol' from the crowd.

Luckily for him, fonts are not today's most pressing matter and he has most of the festival capacity poised, ready to bounce, through his usual clash of hip hop and dance. He immediately launches himself into the old favourites but it's not long until he's showcasing the future hits.

'Bassline Junkie' comes with an explanation that bass is simply Dizzee's drug and while the lyrics inform us that he doesn't care for coke or MDMA we are warned that he'll blow our face away if we dare to go near his bass.

Just as the crowd are getting warmed up and really engaging with the material, Dizzee disappears. He walks offstage and leaves his dj to scratch his way through a selection of his favourite songs. It's a curve ball so early in the set and it ultimately serves no purpose other than completely destroying the pace of the set.

Even a romp through 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' does little to avoid the whole affair being described as ill-advised. After that, Dizzee doesn't stray from the stage. Along with MC Scope, he truly commands the crowd and when he invites Peppa onstage for 'Scream', his Olympic offering, he has them eating out of the palm of his hand.

Early material like 'Fix Up Look Sharp' sits well alongside the later, more poppy offerings and it's eventually Bonkers which provides a true festival highlight. As the 'bonkers' line eventually erupts its accompanied by fireworks, streamers and lasers and it's drilled home that a young rapper who was once 'jus' a  rascal' is now one of popular music's biggest stars.

Click here for our full Kendal Calling coverage.

We want your Kendal Calling reviews!

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and reply to our review posts with your thoughts, insights, opinions and full-on reviews.

Send tweets to us with your reviews or comment on our Facebook page, or in the comments section below with your thoughts.

This isn’t about getting nasty if you don’t agree with our journalists, but an opportunity to leave your own appraisals, with the best ones getting published on the site.

So, what are you waiting for? Let us know your thoughts!

Comments

Related Artists

Related Events

Related Articles