Dizzee Rascal, once a towering figure in UK grime with his groundbreaking debut *Boy in Da Corner* in 2003, has seen his career wax and wane over the past two decades. There were highs, like his collaboration with Robbie Williams and ventures into dance-pop, but also long stretches where he distanced himself from grime, losing the loyalty of his core fans and the UK scene. His return to form in 2017 with *Raskit* marked a nostalgic comeback, reaffirming his roots in pure grime, followed by the similarly charged *E3 AF* in 2020.
Now, four years later, Don’t Take It Personal arrives as Dizzee’s first album since his 2022 conviction for assaulting his ex-partner. While the album pays homage to grime, jungle, and garage, it falters on tracks like “You Can Have Dat,” where Dizzee crudely addresses the incident, tarnishing the record’s overall tone. Lines like “Let me see my kids, you bitch, ’cause I’m their father” expose a bitter side that overshadows the music.
Although the album features a standout moment with the single “What You Know About That,” where Dizzee, JME, and D Double E effortlessly recapture the energy of his mid-2000s peak, it’s clear that Dizzee’s glory days are behind him. Despite moments of brilliance, *Don’t Take It Personal* feels like the work of an artist struggling to recapture the spark that once made him a revolutionary force in British music.