I was talking with one of our readers the other day about the apparent trend of UK Grime rappers abandoning the genre for a blend of rap and US-style house music. This “house-hop” has proven pretty successful, with Wiley scoring a huge hit over there with “Wearin’ My Rolex,” and now Dizzee Rascal going to number one with his single “Dance Wiv Me,” which wasn’t on his last album Maths and English but released as a separate single.

This track is not as entertaining as Wiley’s Rolex track, or even the ever ubiquitous “Rolex Sweep,” but its the perfect evolution of house music from back in the day. Unlike “Rolex,” it has more of a soulful house feel with Chrome and Calvin Harris providing decent hook even if Dizzee’s rhymes a are little weak.

These moves would have hip-hop purists in the US scratching their heads, but the UK hip-hop culture is a lot more intertwined with dance culture. Grime evolved from UK garage and 2-step, which in turn was a take on US house music.

Can house-hop break in the US? Well, I heard “Wearin’ My Rolex” at that party in Baltimore and the dance floor went crazy so I can see B-More club DJ’s breaking these tracks in the States.

Bonus: Dance Wiv Me (Acoustic Version) live at Glastonbury 2008