Apart from his vocal flow, Dizzee stepped away from Grime styles on this album. Replacing the ice cold synths of old with the warmth and rave atmosphere of classic UK acid pop, euro trance, and two-tone attitudes. Dizzee sounded more confident than ever with punchlines and subject matter, there is even a rant against congestion charges, reminiscent of the anti poll tax rave pop of 88-90. This album contains three No.1's, including one of the best singles of '09 in Bonkers (the other one is Stillness Is The Move - Dirty Projectors). Which makes Dizzee largely responsible for the return of proper POP to the charts of late (but beware the Keans of this world are on the horizon waiting for their moment to attack).
Actually if Tongue N Cheek reminds me of anything it's the short lived Hip-House scene, when post Native Tongues Hip-Hop briefly accepted house music, before dismissing it as not 'for real', and going the gangster route. Dizzee imagines a world where hip house continued to develop it's own flow and was not seen as a dead end.
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