A Little Deeper

It's hard to get a grasp on an album that you've never heard by an artist you don't know. Listening to A Little Deeper by Ms. Dynamite in 2023 you're not hearing too much originality or something that merits inclusion on a list of 'Albums you must hear'. When a record that barely had any traction when it was released and who's global stats only show a bump in the UK compared to a flat reception outside, you get a good look at the biases the author(s) of this book have for subpar UK performers regurgitating more popular artists who's only crime appear to not be based in the UK. 3/5.

I was surprised at how much I liked this. I was preparing for a reasonably generic early 2000s RnB and/or hip hop album (and there are, admittedly, a few tracks like that on the back half of the album). But it was more meldoic and catchy than I was expecting. A review I read described Ms Dynamite as a cross between Lauryn Hill and Nelly Furtado, and well hey, I'm down with that. I liked her voice (which is indeed reminiscent of Lauryn Hill and Nelly Furtado), with a pleasant reggae-tinged inflection, from her UK background, I'm assuming. There were a bunch of songs on the front half of the album that I found compelling and memorable (Dy-Na-Mi-Tee, Put Him Out, It Takes More, Sick'n'tired, Afraid to Fly). The production, mostly by Salaam Remi, is funky and warm, with great deployment of samples and acoustic instruments. It made sense when I read that he had worked on The Score by the Fugees and Amy Winehouse's Back in Black. This was a really pleasant surprise, and album I would totally listen to again. I reckon if this was trimmed to a punchy 45 minutes, it would be 4 stars, but there is a little bit of filler on the back end of the record. So, 3.5 stars, rounding up.

In 2003 it probably made perfect sense to include Ms. Dynamite on a list like this - she was massive for about a year. Now, not so much. I enjoy the sassy, streetwise bops (Dy-Na-Mi-Tee, It Takes More, a few others) plenty. But unfortunately these are outnumbered by neo-soul snoozers and slightly insipid R&B tracks - the type of music I've always struggled to like, basically. 2.5 stars

Quality debut album by a clear talent. A little different take with a female rapper with a different sensibility and sound. Multiple tracks with quality grooves and beats, combined with clever arrangements that include instrumental fills with more traditional pop piano and guitar sounds.

Not sure why this has so much hate on this site. It’s standard R&B and probably shouldn’t be on the list but it has a pretty pleasant sound. 6/10

I guarantee this is some English rapper no one has heard of outside the UK, and that it's unironically shallow as fuck. There's a song called "afraid 2 fly" ahahaha oh fuck off you hack. Update: was exactly as expected. Zero depth, lyrics hilariously cheap. Only actual content on its wiki entry is "included in this shitty book". Not quite as bad as MIA, but still a whopping 1/5.

UK Hip Hop always stood in the shadow of its US origins and it mostly does not get close to it. Of course there are exceptions like Little Simz who is one of the best modern Rap artists. Ms. Dynamite in the eyes of some does recieve a similar credit especially with this album that blends Neo-Soul, R&B & Hip Hop into a diverse and interesting album although it is really inconsistent and sometimes all over the place with the ideas and influences. It starts with the short but actually really good 'Natural High (Interlude)' that works as a intro and I really like the low-paced, mainly Synth & Bass background beat that makes you interested with what else the album is going to feature. 'Dy-Na-Mi-Tee' seems to be loved by many but I just think it's annoying. The "e-hee" part in the chorus makes my ears bleed. Just let MJ do a "Hee-Hee" part because this just destroys a theoretically solid song with that god awful chorus. It is even more embarrassing considering this is HER song with it pretty much being an introduction into her persona. Much better is 'Anyway U Want It' that features a typical 90's R&B chorus by a featured singer and a Hip Hop Soul beat. It's pretty solid but nothing crazily interesting. The arguably one of the best songs on here is 'Put Him Out'. It's a fast and slightly angry song that has a great rhythm and a pretty diverse beat. It isn't a perfect song but gets close with a couple of parts including the Jazz piano that starts shortly before the chorus. The more sentimental 'Brother' features a nice melody and great vocal harmonies. It is a nice blend between R&B beat, Soul singing and a few Rap bars. Ulimately a decent song that doesn't really get the edge it should maybe have. The sample heavy 'It Takes More' follows with another great song and definitely a top-tier song compared to most the album offers. It's a more hard-hitting beat that strangely works really well with the more laid-back and singing provided rapping. The greatness of before is a bit lost with 'Sick 'n' Tired' that just isn't as interesting as a lot of that we already heard. It's mainly boring especially with the lackluster performance and the bars that just don't really have a lot of lyrical or emotional depth to it. Just a very "meh" song; It's "ok". 'Afraid 2 Fly' has a really interesting beat that isn't really your average track because it features a lot of different samples that range from bells over water or rain to some really weird synths. That beat gives a great base to work on but she sadly didn't do that. The performance is way to basic for such a crazy beat. It feels contradictory and that in a bad way. The albums second half starts with 'Watch Over Them' a short and acapella intro to that half that only features her rapping without a beat. She's just not good enough of an MC for that to work but nice try. 'Seed Will Grow' has some influence from Reggae, mainly with the featured vocals that are pretty much just Reggae but the beat also takes a couple of elements but in the end stay true to the Hip Hop Soul sound. It's alright but isn't really interesting outside of being pretty nice background music. The more electronic based 'Krazy Krush' makes a slightly glitchy appearence but it does not really get to a point in which I like the sound that is created as the duality of beat and vocals don't fit. Like with many tracks: great idea and concept but she just isn't the right person to perform that. She would be a better artist as an album/song conceptualist for other artists than performing herself. 'Now U Want My Love' is another average R&B song that might have worked back in 2002 or as background music but in an active listen it's pretty boring. The song 'Too Experienced' isn't available on streaming but was a part of the original album. I am not interested enough to check it out but I want to mention it for the albums wholeness. 'Gotta Let U Know' is another song that I am going to same thing about I said already a couple of times: average R&B song that didn't age well and is really uninteresting but still ok for the most. An let's do it again for 'All I Ever' which is a, can you guess?, pretty average R&B song that has a couple of neat ideas but in the end comes of as, ..., just ok and mostly boring. The albums title track and final song 'Little Deeper' had a little secret on the original CD. Because it if you did not stop the album after finishing it and just waited a hidden track called 'Get Up Stand Up' would play. And while that might have worked as a cool easter egg on CDs, it does not work with streaming and it's therefore really stupid to add just 4 minutes of silence in between the two songs... Anyway, the actual song is really boring but the hidden song is actually really good and I am surprised it isn't on the actual track list. It has a solid beat and great featured rapping. This is what the whole album should've been like. This is great!!! One of the best moments on the album and it isn't even an "offical" song. WHY??? WHY??? favourites: It Takes More, Get Up Stand Up, Put Him Out, Anyway U Want It least favourites: Dy-Na-Mi-Tee, Krazy Krush, Watch Over Them, Afraid 2 Fly, Gotta Let U Know, Little Deeper Rating decent to strong 5 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

Started off good, but then ran out of steam. Sort of generic and not worth a spot on this list 2

I found this to be kind of pedestrian and of its time, but it wasn’t a bad record.

An album that seemed to be incredibly well-received on release, but has not been remembered over time. Ms. Dynamite seemed to be championed as the next big artist for hip hop and neo-soul, riding in on the backs of Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu. Instead, it seems like her work pales in comparison to her contemporaries, and barely impacts like recent artists SZA, Noname, or Lianne La Havas. I can't hate too much but it's encompassing the 2000s bass-heavy style of hip hop production that feels dated. It's especially true when it feels like Ms. Dynamite is pulling punches. More than anything, this kind of production deserves bombastic, in-your-face delivery that sticks with you. When it's go big or go home, Ms. Dynamite does not go big.

Phenomenal. Quality production, sharp lyricism, multiple genres - fantastic debut that clearly draws a lot of inspiration from Lauryn Hill, while remaining true to her British and Caribbean roots.

Couldn't decide if this gave me Missy vibes or someone else but damn the flow was *on point*!

Super awesome, funky, what a banger… she’s like the funk version of Etta James 9/10

Not as good as Little Miss Dynamite, a 70 year old woman who tweaks around the pubs of the Isle of Man every weekend.

But not too deep. Ms. Dynamite raps consistently over a variety of textures, and the album has the topographic variation of a good painting. That is, moving micro-shadows are thrown on the thinnest areas, vulnerable to the scrape of lyrical mining. While small for the length, I maintain my reaction to "message" albums.

Die Einbeziehung dieses und ähnlicher, bestenfalls generischer Machwerke in diese Liste macht mich physisch aggressiv. „Das hat man ja so noch NIE von einer Frau gerappt gehört.“ /s

Finally some good fucking food

Final Album! I'm not minding that this project of 3 years ends with above-average R&B from a random UK rapper who's mostly unremembered 20+ years later. Feels in the intended spirit of the project, while also demonstrating the biases about which lesser-known acts got included (and which ones got removed in later editions lol)

это классический середняк - вдохновленно образцами пизже (мисс Лорин Хилл и старушка Мисси Сисси Элиот), но не их уровень

Ms Dynamite flashed so brightly and then disappeared without a trace. Well meaning, socially conscious, sometimes engaging but the album not consistent enough and for every track with inspiring lyrical content such as It Takes More there’s a routine track like Anyway U Want It.

Weinig speciaal.

This is some good Y2K nostalgia right here

Absolutely adore this album and the second song is like an intro to the artist

What a unique, mature, and healthy voice. The type of album that makes you wish you were the right age to appreciate it upon release.

Sian's score... Fantastic album that I have loved since first hearing it

Meaningful beautiful reggae inspired hiphop, what's not to love?

Solid album. Good vocals. If you put Ms. Dynamite on and can't get any action it's not Ms. Dynamite's fault.

Wait, what??? This is a fantastic album!!! How haven't I heard of it! Son nice to have found it here! Too bad I can't listen to most songs on Spotify... but for that there's always YouTube!

Remembering that a 20 year old me found this quite refreshing at the time.

I rather enjoyed this one. I was not familiar with this artist, but happy to know a little something now.

I'd never heard of her and this isn't a genre I gravitate to but it held my attention and made me want to listen again.

Another new to me artist, love the album and will re-listen.

This was fanTASTIC!!! The only downside of this album is that I love the song Booo!!! so much that I wish this album was her vocals over garage beats :( the instrumentation is still awesome though and this just drips in all of the things that were good and great about early 2000s RnB, all while leaning into the benefits of the english accent in a way that only benefits the sound

I was immediately drawn into this album with the unique voice and composition. And from there I just kept vibing. I love her voice, I loved the featured artists, the range. What a great find! 5/5

Wow, no words

Classy, catchy, tasty. This is everything I wish hip hop was today. A positive message that isn’t about money, drugs, and sex. Throughly enjoyed this album. 9/10

Estou apaixonado pela voz dela

What a banger

This album didn't rock my world but I enjoyed it enough to listen to it again back to back.

Beautiful voice, beautiful attitude. Did tail off in the second half, but it gets a nostalgia star.

Great album!

Great album

album full of bangers, that left me wanting more

Lifted my mood. so fun, great , great , great and a surprise. voice, style, grooves and a perfect antidote to the grim R&B out there... and some nice blood diamond references to keep it real.

Wonderful

This was fan fucking tastic

Instant 5 a real sleeper hit. The funny thing was when this came out I knew her as a presenter on a stupid "street" late night garage show on channel 4. Then this album came out and it was so far ahead of the childish bands she was presenting on. Later found out that she's celebrated poet Akala's sister and it shows as the deepness and reality is so far above the usual stuff which is put out. Loved this album for 20 years.

i liked this more than I thought i would

Some great tracks along the way. It's a bit overlong, and drifts off at the end. Would have been better at 40 minutes. 3.5 stars

Great album. Ms. Dynamite is what I call the musician’s musician. Epic R&B

I was kinda expecting a mid af early 00s rap album but instead what I got was an UBER MEGA BUS early 00s rap album. I loved this record. There are some moments of course on this record where the songwriting or lyricism or beat feels a bit uninspired and the album could be a lot shorter. But I think cutting out those parts you could have a really good album here. I gotta give credit where credit is due though, those remaining tracks on such a shortened version of this album are GOOD. I struggled picking just 3 songs to add to my playlist, in fact I still haven’t narrowed it down haha. Also I really love that this list had at least one female rap artist album inclusion and not just a bunch of old male boomer crap. Alright okay I just listened to it a second time through. And I think what we may have here is a hidden gem. I’m honestly shocked this album wasn’t more popular. I still don’t think it’s perfect but holy cow is it close so I may just round up to a 5 if I’m feeling generous. Nahhh I’m not feeling generous but know this album was honestly way good.

I very much enjoyed this British rap album by Ms. Dynamite! I actually added multiple songs to my Spotify playlist so I can listen to them again on rotation. I would highly recommend this album to others!

7.5/10 Favorite Tracks: *Put Him Out*, Dy-Na-Mi-Tee, Brother, It Takes More (Bloodshy Main Mix) Least Favorite: Krazy Krush, All I Ever

4/5

Beautiful voice

Great album! Not something I'd listen to regularly but I added a few tracks to some playlists of mine.

Never heard of Ms. Dynamite until today, so I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this. Excellent lyrics, varied musical arrangements, and I like her delivery. Will listen to this again.

A really solid listen. Beautiful singing voice and nice flow make this a really enjoyable hip hop hidden gem. I especially personally love the rhythm selection on the songs, I'm a sucker for off-beat/swung percussion parts. Second half starts to get samey but still good overall. Top tracks: Dy-Na-Mi-Tee, Anyway U Want It, It Takes More

People do not care for this record online, which is fucked up because I loved it. Great beats and excellent vocals.

I absolutely loved the first half of this album, but it really dropped off. Easy five stars if it were half as long

I enjoyed it.

Hooky, fun, and smart!

Fun, neat

Man, a British rap album from the early 2000s is a recipe for disaster if I've ever seen one. The dude who made this list has decent taste in American rappers, but has a real deaf ear for his side of the pond. A broken clock is right twice a day, though, and this dude occasionally stumbles upon a gem. This album sounds great the whole way through. She's really versatile as an artist because she can rap and sing without sounding stilted doing either 4/5 Nice work, England

I liked this a lot - it had a good sound and a lot to say. :) Maybe a bit long, but a good album!

That surprised me. I only knew the single which I thought was fun but quite simple. But the rest of it was really good, great lyrics. I'm amazed she's only had two albums. She won the mercury prize, two brits and three MOBOs! Then just stopped.

Remember buying this album back when it came out. Not the sort of music that I normally buy but I really liked it. Still holds up 20 years later

Not the strongest vocally but has great rhythm, flow, and beat

Better than I thought it might beee-heeee.

This is a great varied album, from toaster/rap stuff to smooth jazz, dance music, very entertaining, sometimes she sounds like Amy Winehouse, sometimes like Sade, sometimes MIA. Good stuff well produced.

I enjoyed this.

Hmmmm do I know Ms Dynamite? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I her jamaican sound. Oh yeah I've heard Dy-Na-Mi-Tee. This was pretty good. 4 stars.

Pretty good. Really interesting.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Whilst not a huge fan of hip hop or rap I actually quite liked this album. The streetwise lyrics and quality vocals are good along with most of the music. Not sure why it's included in albums you just listen to. The track that stood out the most was DY NA MI TEE , brilliant track. Not think she was an artist with any longevity but a good album nonetheless

Honestly not bad; surprised I've never heard of her. Thought the vocals were really sharp despite this sounding like standard R&B. Honestly pretty respectable work here, shame she never got big though I kind of do understand as none of the songs really jumped out at me. I will say that the album is just a tad too long. 7/10.

A very assured debut that sadly hasn’t left much of a lasting impact despite deservedly winning the 2002 Mercury Prize, as evidenced by the sparse Wikipedia entry on the album. It’s a hip-hop record at its core but has a large pop and soul influence, sounding far more like The Fugees, Erykah Badu and even Destiny’s Child than the harsher grime wave that was building with Dynamite’s fellow British rappers around this time. Stunning production, great flows and sung vocals, and just a very impressive album

Ok album, very nice example of this style

Had good grooves and nice flow.

Pleasant surprise - didn't know what to expect but the description kind of threw me off the mark in the wrong way. At the risk of simplifying.... Ms Dynamite is like a way better Amy Winehouse? In both songs and (definitely) in voice. Reminds me a lot of Res which is a high compliment. Soulful and catchy but not really over the top in ways that often irritates - she keeps it reserved. Negative is a common one with 2qst century albums: it's too long. I'm good after about 10 songs - c'mon, keep 'em wanting more. Overall this is a different direction I usually take but something about it hit me right - adding this one to the library. 7/10 4 stars

(hello everyone :) thx for having me) Ohhh Ms Dy-na-mi-tee This was so fun and easy for me to listen to (unlike the last two albums that I couldn’t make work at 8am). Had me consistently head bopping 👍 Big fan of predictable boom bap splat sounds so what else can I give it than a 4.

Heyy maya, nice to have you on board! For Basil, happy translating: Mmmmmmh, bizli sexy, bizli aktivistisch, bizli smooth, bizli rhythm und bizli blues. Grandiosi feel-good musig mitere wichtige priise nahdänkete und dwelt-hinterfrögete, dezue lisst mer "Ms. dynamite" und "a little deeper" und bechund scho chli teenie-nervösi hüenerhuut vo dem sex appeal. Da kulleret mer 4 dicki, nervösi Schweissperle de Rugge abe biz zum fudiritz

da isch de noah also mit eme chöpfler vom 5 meter sprungbrett ines gmischts gfühlsbad ineghöpslet paar sekunde alt isch's album gsi wo mir die vertraute kläng vo "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" d'ohre massiert hend und ich mir gad churz unsicher gsi bin öb early 2000s R&B ez doch ufzmal mis lieblingsmusiggenre isch... 2 lieder spöter bini denn aber wieder am bode vo de realität acho wo d'ms. dynamite mir hed welle as herz legge, dass ich min unvertrauenswürdige stächer söll verlah will jede maa en vater sii chan trotz solide intermezzos bini während de ganze albumsreis nie annöchernd ade peak vom start anecho und ich han wiedermal gmerkt, dass R&B bi mir entweder hit oder miss (dynamite) isch doch trotz villne misses (dynamites) hauets d‘hits für mich dasmal use 4 mit fake swarovski gschmückti verrisseni jeansoverall ufs vinyl

Cooles Hip-Hop Album. Die behalt ich im Auge

A solid record, it's honestly so hard to go bad on these old school hip hop records we should go back to that. 7/10

Enjoy-he-heed this

Was interested to see I'd got this one today. I saw a performance of one of the songs a while back, didn't expect to see it on here. Some cool melodies and instruments mixed in. Not very often am I a fan of this genre but I really enjoyed that. Some powerful messages in there. Highlights: Dy-Na-Mi-Tee Put Him Out

I had never heard of Ms. Dynamite before but I honestly didn't hate this album. I enjoyed most of the songs. For being 22 years old at this point, this still sounds fresh to me.

Very good

Surprised I have never heard of here before. Good beets. Great lyricism and content. Enjoyable.

Zeroes r&b blijft goud

I was fully expecting this to be cringey and non-essential, but it still holds up, and you can feel the way it helped UK hip-hop move on from its slightly cheesy 2-step phase.

4-

I've never heard of Ms. Dynamite but this was pretty good.

Going into this listen with low expectations, I was blown away. What a powerful, take-no-bullshit approach to musical protest and empowerment. Why have I never heard this? Why haven’t we progressed much at all, keeping her women-forward message still oh so relevant, 20+ years later? What do I do every day to help evolve our society to make it unneeded? Do I like reggaeton? Tune in next week for more existential angst brought on by powerful music…

A fun and eclectic mix of music, better than a lot of stuff but this is a generous 4. Nothing here drew me in to think it was a level of craft and artistry that would place it on a list like this.

Another great album from the list. I've heard Ms. Dynamite from a song in 2020. That was when I knew she was good. The first 6 songs were fantastic and others were quite good as well. All these good albums this week are a blessing. 4 stars for "A Little Deeper".

She’s good. If she had kept releasing albums I think I would have heard of her. Either way, this album still hits the right buttons. She’s got a great voice and solid beats. Wish there were more memorable tracks. 4/5

Great singer, decent rapping, fantastic early 2000's beat production. Loving the heart applied to the rangev on these tracks and it's a shame she didn't do more than 1 album after this one. Really fun record though, glad to experience this one. Everything from US boom bap, west coast, east coast, reggae, R&B songstress, even got some hardhitting UK grime garage soding beats going on. Maybe that was why this didn't work? Is it too unfocused? Not sure that'd be an issue if it had the right label backing. I can't imagine this lady having trouble if she was pushed in front of the right audiences.

This music is never really going to be my thing, but I had to admit that this was pretty good overall.