45. Dizzee Rascal - I Luv U (2003)

One of the main characteristics of this decade's British dance is that it is very hard to dance to. Using UK garage as their basis, all the dance genres of the nineties merged together to create new styles characterized by instability, with every record being a turmoil of sounds from different musical worlds battling for dominance, resulting in frequent rhythm changes. Out of those, my favorite style is grime, which merges a fast garage beat, Jamaica-style heavy bass, and noises from the entire array of electronic music. A Grime record sounds like someone shooting in all directions inside a small booth, while jumping around trying to avoid the ricochets. The outcome is wild and exhilarating, driving you into ecstasy or outbursts of uncontrolable laughter. But the question remains: how the hell can you dance it? And for singers: how the hell can you sing it?

Dizzee Rascal is one of those who showed it is possible. Taking the frenzied singing of Jamaican dancehall and making it even more hysterical to put himself in a state of temporary insanity, he manages to keep up to to the shifts in rhythm and sound, and match the flow of his rap to them. His words are no less bonkers, and his records are something that can only be compared to thirties Hollywood screwball comedies. This is his first hit, the record that brought grime to the ears of the masses. It is also one of the most exciting records of the decade. The word "dazzling" was never more appropriate.