Bad Intentions is right, as the
N-Dubz member's first solo album has something to offend everyone, but U.K. rapper
Dappy is a controversy king, especially in the media. If you don't find his F.U. attitude on Twitter or in interviews anything but dimwitted, than the misogyny and mayhem here are just like an impulsive, out-of-control
Eminem in a woolly Chullo. Still, when the
Chris Brown and
Rihanna situation (a
Drake-inspired "I'm a changed man now,
Chris Brown") and
Kurt Cobain's suicide ("I'm
Kurt Cobain but I just couldn't do it") are used flippantly, and not at all fluidly, during the hooky highlight "No Regrets,"
Dappy comes off as crass, and not as clever as
Mr. Mathers. The pop-rap gloss just underlines it as "Rockstar" aims to be just that, and with
Queen's guitarist
Brian May in tow, but get past the whole "grit equals credibility" thing and the album becomes a more glorious way to flip off the haters with some cringeworthy laughs along the way. When
the Wanted show up to kick the pre-club anthem "Bring It Home" into overdrive, it is as if
Taio Cruz redid "Dynamite" for those hoodie kids who attack the block with their overdriven boomboxes. Then there are the two "Tarzan" bits, where
Dappy offers two show-and-prove, lyrically driven, "16 Bars"-type tracks, although most listeners will be drawn to the tracks' skillful manipulation of his vocals and the other studio trickery. Producers like Nathan Retro, David Dawood, and
Fraser T. Smith give the album a proper enough shine to think of this as "laughing with" rather than "laughing at"
Dappy, but his detractors won't find any redemption songs here, artistically or otherwise. ~ David Jeffries