On the last leg of their Raskit UK tour, Dizzee Rascal and Donae’o put on a show that left a hot and sweaty Dome audience breathless and spinning. Raskit, the sixth studio album from the Londoner, was a triumphant return to form and a necessary course-correction following The Fifth’s overly polished pop sensibilities. Grime has never been hotter, and the UK scene is undoubtedly one of the most vibrant in the music world, regardless of genre. A perfect time then for one of the original masters of the movement to make a statement.

Support Donae’o lit the flame for the night with an effortlessly confident show, as you would expect from a man who has been in the business for 16 years (hence the name of last year’s mixtape sixteen). Mixing tropical house and garage beats with smooth rhymes, he can bring a club feel to the biggest stages and this very quickly became much more than a mere support role. ‘Black’, his single with JME and Dizzee dropped early but it was the performance of ‘Fire’ that set the night off. Having told Brightonsfinest just before the show that he was looking forward to a rest following a lengthy tour, there was no sign of that in an exceptionally energetic 30 minute set. The crowd were not so much warmed up as flame-grilled, baying for more as Donae’o left the stage.

As the bells of Big Ben rang out, the opening lines to ‘Space’ (“Ain’t no point in playing it safe, gotta know your role, better state your case”) paved the way for the following 70 minutes. With dazzling speed and intensity, he weaved backwards and forwards across the stage criss-crossing with his partner-in-rhyme MC Scope. The lights and lasers were blinding, all adding to a ridiculously fast pace which continued for most of the night. The whole of the Dome quickly became a sweat box, mostly good-natured with the exception of a fight at the front which the rapper quickly split up himself. An already fired-up crowd nearly took the roof off the venue with ‘Jus’ A Rascal’ and ‘Fix Up, Look Sharp’ wringing every drop of sweat from the audience.

There was a deliberate focus throughout on both Raskit and his 2003 debut Boy In Da Corner. Dizzee Rascal may have been slated in the past for moving too far towards the mainstream, however these days the mainstream has come to him and his peers. With that in mind, three of his six albums were not even represented by a single track (to the dismay of no-one) and it was only very late in the show that the platinum-selling Tongue N’ Cheek finally got a look in. This approach allowed the new material the space to shine, and shine it did with barely a dropped rhyme all night. When he is on form like tonight, the speed of Dizzee’s flow is breathtaking.

When the major hits did drop towards the end, the room quickly became one heaving mass of party people intent on having a good time. Many acts would kill for a trio of ‘Bassline Junkie’, ‘Dance Wiv Me’ and ‘Holiday’ to close a set with – all topped of course by ‘Bonkers’ in the encore. As Dizzee and his crew ambled onto stage and apologised for not being allowed to finish due to the curfew and then wandering off again, it was a classic fake-out and the roar that followed as the familiar big beat started must still be ringing around many ears a few days later. The mixture of the familiar and the fresh was a perfect match tonight, and a move that continues to cement his place at UK music’s top table.

Jamie MacMillan

Website: raskit.co.uk
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Twitter: twitter.com/DizzeeRascal