There is no thread about the new Shystie album yet

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It's been out for over a week, but her album doesn't even have its own thread! Which is odd, given how ILM wanked itself silly over Dizzee and Wiley.

Anyway - Shystie, Diamond In The Dirt, grime with a super-shiny, irresistible pop sheen, some great basslines and one of the most thrilling vocal performances I've heard this year. Oh and a Bacharach interpolation, and some awesome operatic samples. Better than Wiley, certainly. Am guessing that I'll listen to it more than Dizzee too.

― The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 22 July 2004 13:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Lex, Stylus is calling please.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Thursday, 22 July 2004 13:44 (twenty-one years ago)

vocals are brilliant, not that sold on some of the beats. think she deserves better. she a fantastic MC though. wiley should produce her entire next album.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Thursday, 22 July 2004 13:44 (twenty-one years ago)

its not a better LP than boy in da corner though. its too long, not focused enough. too all over the place. and not nearly as dark as id have liked.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Thursday, 22 July 2004 13:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Nick, I'll email you later on when I get home!

I love the beats and production, maybe not as complex as Wiley's but better to listen to. And she rides them with such aplomb!

Dunno about comparing it to BIDC yet but as far as length and focus goes Shystie wins.

― The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 22 July 2004 13:47 (twenty-one years ago)

no way, lex! shystie is just hitting every style possible this time round. she does ride them immaculately and fiercely, but as an album, this is another kind of bit of everything, lets try it all type effort.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Thursday, 22 July 2004 13:49 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah but it all works for me! Dizzee's album might have higher peaks but Shystie's album never gets as... I dunno, I definitely think BIDC could be more focused.

I've always liked the melting pot approach to albums anyway.

― The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 22 July 2004 13:55 (twenty-one years ago)

if she paired it down to 12 or so incredible tracks, it would be better. i dont like melting pot albums. i find myself saying: commit yourself!

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Thursday, 22 July 2004 14:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah but which three would you get rid of? There are only 15 tracks, two of which are skits, in the first place. Offhand the only one which DOESN'T blow me away completely is "Unfinished Bizzness". I'm pretty much in awe of "Can't Play", "Step Bac", "Woman's World" and "Bank Robbery".

also I wanna know why ILM appears not to care about Shystie compared to Wiley and Dizzee. Their threads grew at a much faster rate...

― The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 22 July 2004 15:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Cuz she's a gurl and therefore not an auteur.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Thursday, 22 July 2004 15:34 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah I think I knew that really but expected better :(

― The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 22 July 2004 15:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha. Sad, innit.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Thursday, 22 July 2004 15:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Soulseek's throwing up nothing and Dawlish Woolworths didn't have it.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Thursday, 22 July 2004 15:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Basically, most of Shystie's rep is based on her dull 'answer' to "I Luv U" and that she's the fastest spitter in the UK supposedly. I think she's a pretty mediocre MC with a really weak voice, but i guess she's alot more marketable than most female, if not all MCs from the 'grime' scene. I mean, there's a million different UK garage/hop hop/rnb releases every year, i don't see how this is so different to say, Taz which got 0 attention on ILM. Apart from that the Guardian are digging on it. I guess tho if you like your Shaznay Lewis and Girls Aloud you'll be digging on this.

― scg, Thursday, 22 July 2004 15:41 (twenty-one years ago)

(And this isn't really a sex thing; people on these boards have repped for lots more worthier female mcs)

― scg, Thursday, 22 July 2004 15:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I can't believe that no one in the world appears to have been bothered about this (apart from Petridish and his dreadful full-page review, oddly)! It's like the first major-label grime LP, and ideal for actually turning grime into a full-on commercial force rather than a resolutely underground scene known only to people in London and on the internet, and it's being ignored!

(xpost)

the "I Luv U" answer wasn't dull - and anyway, apart from the fact that I love Shystie's MCing, she can't be dismissed on the basis of that alone when fucking WILEY got everyone creaming over his album. What's 'weak' about her voice anyway?

Also that last statement kind of confirms that hip-hop/garage snobbery is the new indie snobbery.

― The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 22 July 2004 15:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Snobbery is the new snobbery and exists in fans of EVERY genre.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Thursday, 22 July 2004 16:17 (twenty-one years ago)

i also love her MCing - gutter and play with shystie are fantastic, rescuing double-timing from the skiba/shabba bidi bidi taint. Nobody else can spit this fast and still be perfectly understandable. As an album i thought this was much more interesting than Wiley's debut, certainly far more coherent. The only thing that lets it down is the underlying sense that label bosses were pulling strings in the background to pop-it-up a bit.

also don't think there are loads more "worthy" female MCs and it's a complete misunderstanding to group her with Girls Aloud, for fucks sake, she's down at eski dance, she's on radio...

― soc, Thursday, 22 July 2004 16:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Sonically is it like IDM gone nuts hiphop, that's what I want to know. If it is, I shall buy it.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Thursday, 22 July 2004 16:19 (twenty-one years ago)

and you'll probably find that her "rep" is based on years playing under 21 clubs, rather than her retort to Dizzee

― soc, Thursday, 22 July 2004 16:19 (twenty-one years ago)

XPs a-plenty

This is a good record, and I like Shystie's MCing - but I think the problem IS that there's no auteur behind it. Not in a 'girls are rubbish' way, but in the way that production-wise, it lacks any real coherence of vision. Some of it sounds derivative of American hip-hop, which doesn't chime too well with the "UK homegrown" thing that brings grime some of its appeal.

Ultimately, it feels like a major-label grime album, and although that doesn't ruin the record for me, I'm not sure it's as good a vehicle for what she does as it could have been. Contrast the original 'One Wish' with the Terra Danjah remix, and... well, I rest my case.

― Jason J, Thursday, 22 July 2004 16:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I want to like this album because I like the sleeve and the font she uses more than anything else

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Thursday, 22 July 2004 17:47 (twenty-one years ago)

pic?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 22 July 2004 17:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Better than Wiley, certainly.

!!!!!!!!!

Come on. The reason we haven't talked about her all that much is...well, the album doesn't really have a decent tune on it. Even Miss Dynamite is better, and we talked about her enough,

― broken twig, Thursday, 22 July 2004 17:57 (twenty-one years ago)

i think shes one of the best MCs in grime, forget the i luv u retort, or her speed, if speed were all than mc 900ft jesus would be praised to the skies. she is technically brilliant, is very good at concepts, has a wow!-inspiring flow and she doesnt rap soft like most UK MCs who end up on majors do. i cant wait to hear more from her, and lady sovereign.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Thursday, 22 July 2004 18:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I see what people mean about DITD being popped up and having many hip-hop influences but I kind of like that, it still retains its essential griminess and really when most grime so far has been about abrasive, quasi-industrial sounds it's actually something of a novelty to hear it done so smoothly.

production-wise, it lacks any real coherence of vision

I find the coherence of vision is mostly in Shystie's vocal performance - it's *that* which holds the whole album together regardless of whatever production is being used.

I loooove "Can't Play" lots and lots.

― The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 22 July 2004 19:46 (twenty-one years ago)

It does sound "popped up" but isn't that kind of a good thing cos it sort of shows that there are more possibilities inherent in the grime template other than just coalescing back into brit-hop?

Anyway Lady Sovereign is surely much more pop, no? (actually also much better, but that's another story...)

― Jacob (Jacob), Friday, 23 July 2004 07:32 (twenty-one years ago)

um she's rubbish (voice doesn't fit the music and, anyway, whatta voice ugh &c.)? lady sovereign is better.

― cºzen (Cozen), Friday, 23 July 2004 07:38 (twenty-one years ago)

good on yer, cozen.

― broken twig, Friday, 23 July 2004 07:44 (twenty-one years ago)

sorry, it ws hardly constructive.

― cºzen (Cozen), Friday, 23 July 2004 07:55 (twenty-one years ago)

i dont like how half the tracks are R&Bish with the soft-arse backing vocals and things like that.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Friday, 23 July 2004 09:21 (twenty-one years ago)

But Dizzee Rascal already made the reply to 'I Luv U' with the sparkly remix!!

The album just sounds really weak to me, production, voice, songs, hooks, lyrics, it feels rushed; a major label push to capitalise on this new grime thing popular with 18 year olds who all live on East London council estates. Of course, this probably makes it more attractive to pop fans, cool, except i don't like pop! So fuck off with your ex-indie fan boy high-fiving!

5 female MCs better than Shystie, and worthy of more praise (and fucking record deals already):
1. Lady Stush
2. Lady Fury (i don't give head but i give head butts/punch in the gut for calling me a slut!)
3. Lady Sovereign
4. QT

― scg, Friday, 23 July 2004 09:57 (twenty-one years ago)

it is a bit too poppy in places for me, at times i thought it was big brovaz like. but shysties rapping is never poppy, which makes the backing more incogruous.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Friday, 23 July 2004 09:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Eh, what happened to the end of my post??
Number 5 should be Sweetness.
xpost

― scg, Friday, 23 July 2004 10:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Lady Sovereign has a deal with a major...

― Jacob (Jacob), Friday, 23 July 2004 10:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Lady Fury is amazing - "I'll snatch your heart and drink your blood!"

― The Lex (The Lex), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I like "Step Bac" *heaps* and tried to mount a defence of Shystie back at the beginning of the year. "One Wish" less so but it's still good (though haven't heard the Terra Danjah mix I don't think). Haven't heard the rest of the album (just as I haven't heard anything else of interest these past two weeks or so).

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Saturday, 24 July 2004 03:24 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

great album! bump

― mentalist (mentalist), Friday, 3 September 2004 12:47 (twenty-one years ago)

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