Dizzee Rascal is turning up the bass ahead of the release of his ninth studio album, We Want Bass, sharing an explosive new music video for “Foxtrot Oscar,” the record’s opening track and a fitting introduction to its relentless energy.
Directed by Romain Chassaing, the cinematic visual drops Dizzee Rascal into a stylized supernatural cityscape where the UK music icon takes on the role of an old-school kingpin. Complete with miniature versions of Dizzee being fired from a gun barrel, the surreal video follows him as he wreaks havoc throughout a twisted reimagining of the criminal underworld and its larger-than-life characters.
The chaos of the visual mirrors the track itself. “Foxtrot Oscar” pairs Dizzee Rascal’s rapid-fire delivery and unapologetic one-liners with a high-tempo bassline, establishing the sonic blueprint for an album built around movement, attitude and unapologetic low-end pressure.
We Want Bass sees the UK pioneer diving deep into the country’s constantly evolving dance music underground. Across 15 tracks, Dizzee pulls together influences from House, R&B, Rap, Dubstep, Speed Garage and Bassline, creating a genre-blurring collection that connects his roots in UK grime and rap with the sounds dominating modern dancefloors.
As its title suggests, We Want Bass is designed as a direct call to the bassheads. The album puts purpose-built dancefloor records at its center, using bass-heavy production as the foundation for Dizzee Rascal’s trademark irreverent lyricism, quickfire bars and infectious hooks.
One of the album’s previously released singles, “All Night,” arrived alongside England’s opening match of the FIFA World Cup, with Dizzee marking the occasion with a live performance at Boxpark Wembley. The appearance brought his high-energy performance style into the middle of one of the summer’s biggest sporting moments.
The album also follows a prolific period of collaboration for Dizzee Rascal, including recent work with prominent names from the Drum & Bass and Bassline worlds such as Bou, Bad Boy Chiller Crew and Denon Reed. The collaborations further highlight an artist who has spent his career moving between scenes while maintaining a distinct voice within UK music.
That connection to the dancefloor will continue on the road. Following a summer of festival appearances at Y Not Festival, Boardmasters and Victorious Festival, Dizzee Rascal will take We Want Bass on a UK and EU tour beginning in late September.
More than two decades into his career, We Want Bass finds Dizzee Rascal embracing the sounds around him without losing what made him such a singular force in the first place. From grime and rap to garage, bassline and modern club music, the album positions one of the UK’s most influential artists right where he has always belonged: at the intersection of rap, rave culture and the underground.
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