I’d almost forgotten about Dirtee Disco but it’s actually a lot of fun. The sample is great too. Hard to dislike and certainly brings a smile to my face

I don’t recall hearing this one. In face I don’t know many Dizzee RascaL songs.

I remember everyone hating 'Dirtee Disco', but I absolutely adore it. It very often gets stuck in my head, moreso than any of his other songs I'd say!

I can kind of see why this pretty much destroyed his charting career though for pretty much the same reasons as you, but I still love it!

(And I'm pretty sure I could still [badly] rap the whole first verse if I had a gun to my head)

Edited Tuesday at 23:002 days by Juranamo

Dirtee Disco?

It’s a no from me

well, another I've not heard since it left the charts - upbeat disco strings and chuntering rhythms, what's not to like from my point of view, and much as I loved I'll Take You There at the time it was an annoyingly minor UK hit I'm struggling to hear it in the mix other than the lyrics! Those recognisable funk rhythms are well disguised in this. Fun! John-at-the-time rated it top 30, which is mostly likely down to lack of airplay if it was out the charts in 4 weeks. I'd be happy to hear it again, at least as much as his new single C U Dance which I just bought.

1 hour ago, Popchartfreak said:

well, another I've not heard since it left the charts - upbeat disco strings and chuntering rhythms, what's not to like from my point of view, and much as I loved I'll Take You There at the time it was an annoyingly minor UK hit I'm struggling to hear it in the mix other than the lyrics! Those recognisable funk rhythms are well disguised in this. Fun! John-at-the-time rated it top 30, which is mostly likely down to lack of airplay if it was out the charts in 4 weeks. I'd be happy to hear it again, at least as much as his new single C U Dance which I just bought.

You're right. 'I'll Take You There' should have raised more warning signs for me when I searched and saw it wasn't disco, I'm normally listening to all associated songs as I write these. I think it still samples the words from 'I'll Take You There' (though common enough words that is it a sample?), but Wikipedia is more wrong than right here.

The disco part of the sample actually comes from John Davis & The Monster Orchestra - Hangin' Out, a 1981 track obscure enough to not be on streaming services:

Terrible

'California Girls' is good but not one I would care to check out of Katy's now.

'Dirty Disco' is just there for me. One I forget about instantly afterwards.

Dirtee Disco is quite good, it's kind of a late 90s disco house revival - in fact its similar to Stretch and Vern - I'm Alive.

And as I read before on Buzzjack the 'Disco Disco Disco Disco' bit may refer to Ray from 2Unlimited's infamous 'Techno Techno Techno Techno' on the UK version of No Limit.

Edited Wednesday at 20:071 day by TheSnake

On 20/05/2026 at 12:38, Iz様 🌟 said:

You're right. 'I'll Take You There' should have raised more warning signs for me when I searched and saw it wasn't disco, I'm normally listening to all associated songs as I write these. I think it still samples the words from 'I'll Take You There' (though common enough words that is it a sample?), but Wikipedia is more wrong than right here.

The disco part of the sample actually comes from John Davis & The Monster Orchestra - Hangin' Out, a 1981 track obscure enough to not be on streaming services:

Hi Iz, wow that is obscure, not heard of it before - but I like it! Lush. I can see why Dizzee went for it. I wouldnt worry about listening to older tracks sampled, there arent enough hours in a day to be that thorough when you are working for a living and your reviews are fabulous! Wikipedia is always only going to be mostly right, by its very nature. Comedian Gary Delaney gave us some fab clips of funny stuff he'd stuck into some Wiki topics last Friday. They get re-corrected, but are funny for a while. 😄

Was probably listening to Dirtee Disco when revising for my GCSES.

Completely agree that 'California Gurls' is the weakest link from those standard edition Teenage Dream singles, very basic. I do remember enjoying the music video through 12-year-old eyes though, mostly due to the assault of colour, fun boardgame layout and sweet treats. Speaking of the latter... I recently dug out my CD copy of Teenage Dream from 2010 and the scented booklet still smells like candyfloss all these years later *.*

I was wondering when 'Dirtee Disco' would drop out! This track feels so far removed from what he was doing before, especially with a member of One True Voice providing vocals, but it's ultimately harmless and preferable to 'Shout' at least.

19. B.o.B – Nothin’ On You (feat. Bruno Mars)

1 week at #1 (entered 23^rd May): 01-02-02-08-13-18-19-23-29-33-36-39-43-54-70-79-94-100-97-96

Kept off #1: Jason Derülo – Ridin’ Solo

EOY #45

 

Funny you say that Mack, as I was going to open this song with a very specific anecdote, a point in time that I recall very well. Not studying for GCSEs, but at a camping night out that my class had planned to celebrate finishing our GCSEs. I don’t normally recall songs that well but this has forever stood out as a song that I remember from that night, probably as quite a few of us got singing it around the fire in the pleasant June air. Quite a lovely time really. At least, that’s the idealised version I remember. Had no clue who the singers were, particularly that bright-voiced fellow on the chorus. I wonder if we’ll hear anything more from him ever.

While B.o.B may be known these days, if at all, for being that rapper who really, really went off the boil into flat-earth conspiracism and if you look further, any and all sorts of conspiracy theories (standard issue stuff plus racism, eek), as far as his debut album The Adventures Of Bobby Ray is concerned, he was the industry’s new favourite pop rap artist, with a Georgian twang and a great sense of rhythm, and seemingly a talent for attracting some really really big names right out the gate, with T.I, Eminem, Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, new hot suite-server Janelle Monae and Lupe Fiasco among others taking the time to show up on his album. He’d had some mixtapes before and was getting his dues as a major player to be in the future for a couple of years before the big breakthrough, but normally rappers worked their way up by showing their skills in the hip-hop community and really establishing their career on their own merits before going this far into sellouts and collaborations, B.o.B seemed to come from nowhere in the charting world and disappeared nearly as fast. Though worth saying the Rivers Cuomo song, ‘Magic’, contains what I think are my favourite bars from B.o.B, and this would be a fair-selling #16 hit as the third single.

His debut single though would include not those guys, but one music producer with potential, Bruno Mars, for whom this was also his first chart hit. It’s this combination, the fresh-faced rapper and the newest hot property for choruses that make ‘Nothin’ On You’ such a good track for the music industry, two debutants building off of each other’s skills to create, well, a good, solid track, at least, in an ideal world it would be. It was produced by the Smeezingtons, of whom Bruno Mars was a part, they’d most notably produced K’Naan’s ‘Wavin’ Flag’ for that track’s first release, and of course for the UK this song would get in ahead of that one on the chart, both songs were written and released in the US in 2009, as we were still in the staggered release era. Mars wasn’t going to be on the chorus originally but he sang on it on the demo and despite some industry pushback, featured on the final product – it was a similar story for the #3 hit ‘Billionaire’ with Travie McCoy, which was being worked on at the same time, both of which served to keep Bruno Mars' voice on the airwaves throughout the summer of 2010 in the UK. 

It did at least keep Ridin' Solo off of #1, Derülo also of course a relative chart newbie, and would be in the battles to keep 'Dirtee Disco' and 'Gettin' Over You' from getting the top spot, which is something of an indication of how much more commercial staying power this kind of pop rap had at the time - numerous examples throughout this thread. 'Nothin' On You' is perhaps the most basic and 'just fine' one, which is how it gets to just below the halfway point with me.

It’s a very smooth, lovely-sounding song, nice hip-hop ballad, I have no complaints on the lyrics, B.o.B’s bars have nothing wrong with them, they flow well. It feels good to listen to, if maybe a bit too smooth, no edge at all that makes you go back for more . The main criticism that I have with it though is that unlike with ‘Magic’, and his other #1 yet to come, B.o.B really feels like a background player here on his own song, to the song's detriment. The only lyric I recall with any ease from him here is about him going down to home in Georgia and then on to all these other places that B.o.B may well have seen in his very brief window as the world's biggest rap star. The rest, might as well be white noise.

When you take it as a Bruno Mars-dominated song, it’s less exciting too, it’s just a love ballad, a very well-performed love ballad, but missing bits, like verses to tie it all together. Also this was Bruno at his peakest of less interesting pop crooners and though he can certainly perform those, it’s not exactly what I really want to go listen to when I think ‘let’s listen to Bruno Mars’. Admittedly I don’t think that often but his more interesting funky stuff in the years to come would be so much better than this. As for B.o.B, he'd become a fair bit more interesting in hits, the few others of those that he had, where he, as the industry's new flash-in-the-pan rap darling, wasn't being outshone by the guy from the production team.

I'm shocked that B.o.B and Bruno Mars are only at Number 19 on this countdown. Each to their own, I suppose.

Personally, I would have put it in the top 3.

I like how smooth and soulful it sounds and it's different to a lot of the music released at the time.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by Charlielargepotatoes

Loved this at the time, still do. Bruno Mars can be hit or miss for me, but he’s so smooth on this.

Fair placings for the last three. 'California Gurls' is pretty tacky in comparison to Katy's later singles from Teenage Dream, although I'm not that keen on the title track either and it's one where I find her singing voice alternates between a bit whiny and a bit shouty, however the four singles which followed I'm on board with as a good run. 'Dirtee Disco' felt like Dizzee on autopilot, but I remember the sample and "disco, disco, disco, disco!" lyric, and might agree it's preferable to 'Holiday' (aside from Calvin's switch-up in the final minute of that). Can't say any of B.o.B's rap on 'Nothin' On You' sticks in the mind aside from his interjections on the chorus, though Bruno's turn on it is very pleasant and along with 'Billionaire' seems like it was tailor made to set up his Doo-Wops & Hooligans era.

This is an other one I’m not that keen on sadly. I’m starting to realise that maybe I wasn’t a huge fan of the #1’s from 2010.

I have to admit I’d forgotten this song and Bruno’s input. It’s pleasant enough especially the chorus but nothing really special.

And I’m afraid always think of the fabulous OutKast song when B.O.B (Bombs Over Baghdad) is mentioned!

Always really liked that one, got a cool vibe to it. Would have it higher up myself.