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.

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

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.

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.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it just nostalgia? Is it the biased extrapolation of one iconic single? Is it the overwhelming relief of the first gasp of fresh air after the endless deluge of forgettable 70s dad rock that has washed over me in the last several days? NO! IT'S A BANGER

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.

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

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

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

How have I never heard of this record? It's so good I can already tell. I'm hearing so much early 2000s in this, but also some of the things that really exploded later... dance hall, grime... really cool. It definitely is dated. Not sure I'd listen again. But I like its integrity.

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.

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

Fantastic album with some instant classics. So many of the instrument lines were pulling from famous pieces of music. Plus, Ms. Dynamite's flow was buttery. I loved this album.

Finally some good fucking food

How was this not on my radar before, is it because this is a UK sound? I admit I wasn't looking forward to it when I did my superficial reading, but that reggae background and soulful lyrics are pretty tight. It's slightly dated, definitely sounds like the 2000s, so maybe a there's some positive millennial bias. It's not like every track stands out, but it doesn't stop at the obvious banger, it holds firm until it ends. I'm particularly fond of the hidden track on the ending, it wasn't split to benefit the streaming service and it makes the track feel like a bonus. Also, great re interpretation, gotta appreciate the message and the ideas. 3.9/5

I had heard of her but didn’t really know her music. I quite enjoyed it.

I quite like some of the songs on this album, but I have no clue as to why it's on the list.

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)

I was more of a Mis-Teeq fan back in the day and never listened to more than Dy-Na-Mi-Tee back in the day. This album did actually dig deeper than I expected (hah), but not much. It's decent if you're into your British r'n'b. Watch Over Them was kinda surprising due to it being acapella but then it slid back into electronic music. By the time A Lil Deeper slides round I felt a bit disappointed. Oh!! Hidden track at the end! OK this is the nostalgia hit I needed.

I'm vaguely aware of Ms Dynamite (aka Lady Dynamite) from the early 2000s but have never listened to her. This is an impressive R&B/soul record and I can see why it attracted some attention and a Mercury Prize. But I have to confess that I didn't find this particularly memorable or overly significant. I guess it's not really my style. I kept thinking that it sounded like a British Beyonce, which is certainly not a criticism. I understand why she's got her fans, and I don't have anything negative to say, but I wouldn't normally seek this one out.

It's fine. I enjoyed the singles that I remember from its original release. There's quite a bit of filler. Don't really understand why it's on the list but I didn't hate it.

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

Reminds me of the time I made a guitar out of a shoe box and a rubber band. I wandered over to my work colleague at a nearby desk playing my rudimentary guitar and serenaded her with Dy-na-mi-teee. Channeling my inner Harry Hill. She told me to go away.

No thanks. Good value Lauryn Hill

No idea why this album is in this list. This sounds like evey generic r&b/rap album from the early 2000’s. Not bad per se, but it’s too long clocking in at 1 hour. Reminded me of a lesser version of Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse.

Weinig speciaal.

Extreme recency bias. I'm assuming this one was struck from later editions of the book.. but then I'm just generally uninterested in this genre to start with.

I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it until the day I die: Britons should not be making hip-hop or anything hip-hop adjacent. It just never actually sounds good at all, and this album is no exception.

stop with the UK rappers please

Not bad

Will listen to this again, really cool.

Now this is what I’m here for! Banging! New sounds! New environments!

Я ні на що не розраховувала, зважаючи на те, що вперше чую про цього виконавця, а обкладинка не вселяла довіри. Проте це було дуже добре. 4,5

This was a great album. I'd give it 4.5 stars if possible because I can't Forsee myself coming back often. But I'll round up to a 5.

Liked it a lot! Maybe with a few listens more I would let it grow even more on me. Loved production, lyrics, vocals, themes. Really Y2K core.

Absolutely amazing it gives ms lauren hill the whole time I was debating on 4 or 5 but 5 is well deserved

жесть я обалдела с песни dynamite! Крутой альбом

Yessss

Forgot about her! Love this album. Why hasn't she made more?!?

Definitely of its time and place but still loved in this house

favorites: put him out; we will grow; crazy crush

que gran album!! guardaría un monton de canciones. No conocía y gran mujer la amé.

I am only 20 deep on this journey, and in certain instances I have had moments of - holy crap, how have I never heard this song before. This happened multiple times here. Legit.

2002 fifa vibes

Drum and bass 👎 Drum and bass with gorgeous vocals 👍

I don’t know why I never listened to this album sooner. I really enjoyed it

This was dynamite. Confident, smart, and full of groove. “Anyway U Want It” and “Gotta Let U Know” were my faves, but honestly, I’d vibe to this whole album with a glass of red and a good book any Friday night.

Edgy, mind blowing

Ok, this was awesome.

Letras socialmente conscientes e introspectivas, destacando o talento vocal e a paixão da Ms. Dynamite.

Sounds like British Lauryn Hill mixed with Jorja Smith, I’m sat!

This album surprised me, it was awesome. I loved the lead singers voice, and the first 5 or so songs on the album were so fun and groovy to listen to. "Anyway U Want It" was my favorite, but "Put Him Out" gets an honorable mention.

She looks badass and also the album cover is way cooler here than it is there. WOW! this is like, a 5 star album. Good job Ms. Dynamite.

I only knew her through Dy Na Mi Tee and she surprised me.

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.

20 de Junio. 1. Just intro, nada más 2. OMAIGÁAA. Thanks to Lennie Hibbert for that beautiful song "Rose Len" que dio vida a este tema que amo hace años. PERO TAMBIÉN A MOLASSES DE EARL, recuerdo hacer esa conexión hace muchos años in my early twenties. 3. Hey that's pretty nice! 4. Yo, this girl got nice rythm, Liking it a lot. 5. Cute, miss my brother. Lala debería dedicárnosla. 6. Nice one, like! 7. Sick n Tired. Nah, nice try. 8. Didn't like the beat, skipped middle. 9. Interlú cantaíto, good but no. 10. Cool con Marley, liked. 11. Good one! 12. Liked it, good one! 13. Nada memorable pero good I guess. 14. Loving the beat, super chill, liked! 15. Loved it. 5! Porque it deserves it

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 wasn’t looking forward to listening to this, and I didn’t expect to enjoy it. But it was excellent. I hated “Dy-Na-Mi-Tee” when it came out and, unsurprisingly, I still do. Which is ironic, as that was the biggest hit from the album. However, I think “Put Him Out”, especially, and “It Takes More”, were the better singles and both sound amazing nearly 25 years later. The album tracks were mostly great, none feeling like true filler, although the quality did peel off a little in the last handful. At the age of 10, when this originally came out, I obviously wasn’t listening to the lyrics (which was probably for the best); however, listening now, I find it very powerful lyrically a lot of times. A real surprise for me, this one.

This was much, much better than I expected. The singles from this album were incredibly popular at time of release (in the UK, I assume this is baffling to the non-Brits listening), and I have a massive soft spot for Put Him Out as a result. I had never heard the album though. I think she has a great voice, the production is fun, everything feels pretty catchy and funky. If anything I'm surprised this hasn't had much longevity. I am guessing Di-Na-Mi-Tee might be to blame. A massive song that grabbed the public attention, but was also endlessly parodied, feels like a double-edged sword. I imagine it made her a lot of money, but probably made it very hard to not be the di-na-mi-tee-hee woman. This was probably a 3.5 for me, but I really had fun listening to it, so it's getting a surprising: 4/5

Good album. Not surprised this doesn't have a high rating on this site as it doesn't involve a white man playing guitar solos. Hey ho, I like her

Hadde aldri hørt om hverken artist eller album. Satt på albumet mens jeg satt med armene i kors som en trassig onge og var klar for å hate. Ble positivt overrasket og overrekker herved en ydmyk firer.

I really liked this! I preferred the first half to the second.

I liked this. I have never heard of Ms. Dynamite before. A surprise since this album came out 25 years ago. It still sounds super relevant and new today. I didn't listen closely enough so can't comment on the lyrics at all, but the overall vibe and production style sounded well done.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump down to a 4. This is the closest thing we’ll get to a Mary J. Blige album on the list, and for that, I’m not complaining. Ms. Dynamite’s vocal range channels just about everyone in the hip-hop / R&B space at the time, going as nasally as Amy Winehouse at some point, as deep as Mary J. Blige at others, and sometimes channeling Ashanti & Whitney Houston’s more aged vocals of this era. The early 2000s might’ve been a bit crowded in terms of this general style, but it’s just interesting to hear it comes from the other side of the pond & done as successfully as it’s done here. I genuinely don’t think there’s a bad track here at all, and from going through the original UK version (that means cutting out “Danger” & “Ramp” while listening on Spotify), it’s a pretty breezy hour with a solid enough variety to never get TOO stale. It does, however, get a little stale, and that’s the main reason I’m bumping this down to a 4 as opposed to going up to a 5. There’s a lot of little reasons peppered into that, all of which aren’t super bothersome on their own, but as something that piles up throughout the album, just gets too big to ignore. The most obvious one comes in the outros – a lot of these tracks stagnate for the last minute or so, ending on the chorus repeating a couple of times while the instrumental (which has run its course) just kinda goes on in a way that becomes easy to tune out. This could’ve easily been fixed if the tracks cut out a bit sooner, or if the instrumentals just had some extra progression upon reaching the outros. The instrumentals, however, are the second most obvious one: they just don’t quite hit a consistent vibrancy throughout. They’re all good, don’t get me wrong, & many of them are great, but too many of them settle too early, occasionally feeling a lot emptier on some tracks. This becomes a lot more apparent in the back half of the album, especially on stuff like “Sick ‘n’ Tired” or “All I Ever”. A lot of R&B / pop artists at this time would typically keep lifting a track up more & more, layering it with vocal runs & extra backing melodies to give it some extra pep, but the production work here just doesn’t really do that. It’s there, but it doesn’t do it to enough of a degree to give it the lift it needs. When the instrumentals REALLY hit (see: “It Takes More”), it fucking rocks, but it doesn’t hit like that as often as I wish it did. The third thing is just in a bit of topic reuse; her songwriting is lovely & vivid, able to capture the pain of her harder relationships while being able to capture the love she has for her family. It’s a decently biographical album, and I think her vocals portray that reflection well. There’s some intimacy here that enhances a lot of the tracks. It also makes it stick out when she’s reusing some topics, leading to a slight bloat that doesn’t make the album flow as cleanly as it can. I love her talking so confidently about her self-worth, but when there’s a lot of tracks preaching about that self-worth that don’t approach the topic in a more unique way, it just doesn’t hit as hard on the subsequent tracks. I know I devoted 3 paragraphs to the reason I’m docking this half a percentage point, but I’m just an over-explainer, really. There’s lots to like about this album in particular; the versatility in her flow, the songwriting, & some of the cooler production work. Again, it doesn’t elevate in a way that I’d prefer, but that’s just my tastes talking. Ultimately, I think this album holds up well; sure, it’s not doing anything so overly innovative in a way that might tick some people’s boxes for an album you HAVE to hear before you die, but it’s just consistently good to great. Yes, you’ll get the same general musical diet if you listen to Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, or Missy Elliott, but you can’t tell me that “similar musical diet” isn’t present for other sets of bands / artists on a lot of this list overall. It’s called genres, people. As it stands, it’s a catchy hour that had my head bumping to the beat & my brain impressed by some lines / flows, and that’s all I can ask for from an R&B album of the era. Hence, a 4.5 that I’ll bump down to a 4, though it could get up to a 5 someday.

What a nice surprise! This album is great and I love her voice. Might bump it up to a 5 after a couple of listens.

Dy-Na-Mi-Tee instantly took me back to my youth. Such a catchy song with a great hook. The rest of the album is really good. Lots of good, boppy hooks, very easy to listen to and enjoy.

Totally into this. It sounds like early 90s, but No! It’s from 2002.

Some nice r&b vibes on this. Lots of lovely sounds and textures and I enjoyed the reggae influences... None of the tracks really stuck with me though.

Finally a female artist, feels like a breath of fresh air in this parade of old men. Ramp was my favorite, which surprised me later in the album