Tongue n' Cheek is the fourth studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by British rapper

Rapping

Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...

 Dizzee Rascal

Dizzee Rascal

Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...

. The album was released on 20 September 2009 and includes the number one singles, "Dance wiv Me

Dance Wiv Me

Dance wiv Me is a single by Ghanaian British rapper Dizzee Rascal, from his fourth studio album Tongue n' Cheek. It was released on 22 June 2008 and features guest vocals from Scottish DJ Calvin Harris and English R&B singer Chrome...

", "Bonkers

Bonkers (song)

"Bonkers" is a song by British rapper Dizzee Rascal and American producer Armand Van Helden. It is the first single released from Rascal's fourth album, Tongue n' Cheek. Rascal released the track under his own record label, Dirtee Stank Recordings on 17 May 2009 in the United Kingdom; where it...

", "Holiday

Holiday (Dizzee Rascal song)

"Holiday" is a song by Ghanaian British rapper Dizzee Rascal, released as the third single from his fourth studio album Tongue n' Cheek. It was produced by Calvin Harris, with chorus vocals by R&B singer Chrome. Harris originally wrote the song for girl group, The Saturdays, but it was rejected...

" and "Dirtee Disco

Dirtee Disco

"Dirtee Disco" is the fifth single from Ghanaian British rapper Dizzee Rascal's fourth studio album Tongue n' Cheek, although the song only appears in the deluxe edition of the album. It features background vocals from former One True Voice member Daniel Pearce and samples The Staple Singers' 1972...

". It has been certified platinum by the BPI

British Phonographic Industry

The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...

 for sales of over 300,000, making it the best-selling album of Rascal's career.

Background

Its release was announced on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...

when, in an interview, Rascal revealed details including track information and production. He confirmed in an interview on Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 that he is leaving his grime

Grime (music)

Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...

 roots behind, in favour of more mainstream pop music

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

. On 23 May 2009, Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris is a Scottish singer-songwriter, record producer and DJ. His gold-selling debut album, I Created Disco, was released in 2007 and contained the top ten singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls"...

 revealed on his Twitter that he was producing a Dizzee track. At the Evolution Festival in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he confirmed that there will be two new singles from the album called "Road Rage" and "Dirtee Cash". Dirtee Cash heavily samples The Adventures of Stevie V

The Adventures of Stevie V

The Adventures Of Stevie V was a British dance music act from Bedfordshire, England, who, in the early 1990s, scored several hits on the UK Singles Chart, and the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.-Career:...

 song "Dirty Cash.". Samples are also used on "Can't Tek No More" ("Warrior's Charge" by Aswad from the film Babylon

Babylon (film)

Babylon is a 1980 film that depicts the struggles of a Black British working class musician. It stars Brinsley Forde of the reggae band, Aswad. It was co-written by Martin Stellman and Franco Rosso who also directed it. It also starred Karl Howman and Trevor Laird...

) and "Chillin' Wiv da Man Dem" ("Oh Honey" by Delegation

Delegation (band)

Delegation was a British soul musical group with a lengthy career, and an amount of international success. They are generally viewed in the U.S. as a one-hit wonder, based on the crossover hit, "Oh Honey"...

).

In early August the tracklisting was confirmed in a preview of the album by music website NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

.

Notably, Rascal designed a Nike-distributed Tongue n' Cheek shoe, to be in released at the same time as the album. The proceeds from these shoes going to Tower Hamlets Summer University

Tower Hamlets Summer University

Tower Hamlets Summer University is a British charity in the Tower Hamlets area of London which offers independent learning programs for people from 11 to 25 years of age...

 of which Rascal is a patron.

Release and chart performance

On 27 September 2009, Tongue n' Cheek entered the UK Albums Chart

UK Albums Chart

The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

 at #3, charting behind Muse

Muse (band)

Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...

's The Resistance

The Resistance (album)

The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009....

and Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

's Celebration

Celebration (Madonna album)

Celebration is the third greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, and the closing release under her contract with Warner Bros. Records, her record company since 1982. The release follows her two previous greatest hits albums, The Immaculate Collection and GHV2...

.

Critical Reception

Tongue n' Cheek received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75 based on 14 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". The Guardian gave the album 4 out of 5 stars saying "If it's less wilfully uncommercial than his earlier oeuvre, which frequently made the listener feel like they were being mugged in the middle of an amusement arcade, its distorted synthesisers are still edgily thrilling". Pitchfork Media's Ian Cohen gave the album 7.5/10 saying that "He sounds damn good over trashy, flashy electro that manages to keep pace with cadences as hyperactive as his own, and, above all, he's way more fun than he's often given credit for". NME gave the album 7/10 saying that "The beats on Tongue N' Cheek are still raw, clamorous and unpredictable, but in a springy, primary-coloured way". Q Magazine gave it a favorable review saying "It's been a long time coming, but Brit-rap's first genuinely huge album is here". musicOMH.com gave it 4 out of 5 stars saying "There's a party to be had and Dizzee's in charge, but don't forget to engage your brain for at least some of it". Observer Music Monthly gave it 4 out of 5 stars saying "It unquestionably adds up to a pop record sharp enough to be the bratty but irresistible younger brother of Lily Allen's "It's Not Me, It's You". RapReviews.com gave the album 8.5/10 saying "All in all, Dizzee hasn't gone all out to make an artistic masterpiece, but it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference".

Track listing

• A bonus disc entitled "Foot n' Mouth" comes free with the album when purchased from HMV
  HMV
  His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
  
  . It contains a single track of 27:54 containing a Dirtee Stank podcast
  Podcast
  A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
  
   with the following contents:
• Dirtee deluxe edition: An expanded version of the album was released in 2010 to celebrate the album going platinum.

Chart performance

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	18
Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically...	20
UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...	3
UK R&B Albums Chart UK R&B Chart The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week...	1
New Zealand Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...	9
US Billboard Hot 200	121

Sales and certifications

Country	Provider	Certification	Sales
United Kingdom	BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...	Platinum	300,000+

Chart procession

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