Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Mills was his name when he was born in Bow, East London on the first of November 1985. And it would be Bow where Dizzee Rascal would spend his formative years too, getting in trouble on his council estate for stealing cars and finding himself expelled from four schools before being introduced in a music class to the world of music production. Just in the nick of time, as it happened.
Encouraged by his early experiments making music on school computers, the young Rascal was by the age of 15 MCing on pirate radio stations and at raves. A one time member of the infamous Roll Deep crew (he left after an even more well documented bust up with fellow member and former mentor Wiley), he released his debut solo album Boy In Da Corner in August 2003, via the XL imprint.
With the album peaking at #23 in the UK charts and classic singles such as ‘I Luv U’, ‘Fix Up Look Sharp’ and ‘Jus’ A Rascal’ being fawned over by the music press, Dizzee’s profile was high enough as it was, but a stabbing in Ayia Napa, which left him seriously wounded, had the tabloid press wondering if the whole thing had been concocted as a scam to raise publicity. Perhaps they should check the Rascal’s scars.
In the September of the same year, Dizzee was crowned winner of the Mercury Music Prize for his debut LP. At just 19 years old, he was the youngest person to ever walk away with the prize, and, remembering his roots, subsequently donated his prize money to local music initiatives in his native East London.
Preferring to ‘Stand Up Tall’ rather than stand still, Dizzee Rascal released his second LP Showtime within the space of 12 months after winning the Mercury. The single mentioned in the appalling pun at the beginning of this paragraph was the first to be lifted from the number eight charting album, and also the first of Dizzee’s singles to enter the UK top 10.
And from there, from strength to strength is where our Bow boy went (we’ll brush over that whole ‘Band Aid 20’ incident, yeah?). He’s raised the profile of his own Dirtee Stank label imprint, signing old friends from the grime scene Newham Generals, and recorded a third solo LP – his second to be nominated for the Mercury Music Prize – entitled Maths + English, released again via XL earlier this year.
DIZZEERASCAL.CO.UK: Dylan’s official site might be frightfully garish, but it’s also hella informative.
DIZZEERASCAL.NET: This fan site offers a thriving message board and a chance to sample each of Dizzee’s three studio LPs.
MYSPACE.COM/DIZZEERASCAL: Unlike many label-run pages, Dizzee’s personal touch is all over his MySpace profile. Check the candid photographs for proof.
I LUV U: “Its sentiments of underage pregnancy and general, disgruntled ‘hood occurrences are dark and demonically heavy…” Tobler L wrote those words.
FIX UP LOOK SHARP: “Both combative and resolutely British, you can\'t help but admire the lad\'s unabashed confidence...”, quoth Matthew Tomiak.
JUS’ A RASCAL: “An infectious, buff piece of arrogant, snotty garage-pop, as hook-laden as it is vicious in its spitting verbal-assault…”, thought Toby L.
href="http://www.rockfeedback.com/article.asp?nObjectID=770">BOY IN DA CORNER: “Hear that? Every MC in the business, that’s the sound of their jaws dropping to the floor…”, thought Tom Hannan of the boy’s debut LP.
LIVE @ KENTISH TOWN FORUM, NOV ‘04: Showtime era set in front of a hometown crowd.
SHOWTIME: “As for keeping it real, few things could ever sound quite this genuine…” – Tom H.
STAND UP TALL: “This marks the ascent of a teenager, a peer, to a man, an influence – and the masses beckon…”, were the words from Toby L’s trap.
DREAM: “Still as quintessentially British as anything from the pen of Davies, Weller or any of the Britpop bards…”, parped the Tomiak once more.
LIVE @ LONDON KOKO, JUNE ‘07: Returning to the north London stage ahead of Maths + English.
SIRENS: Dizzee at his most thrillingly abrasive since ‘I Luv U’.
PUSSYOLE (OLD SKOOL): Just plain rude, this one. Especially if you’re Wiley, who the track is rumoured to be about…
FORCED IN TO DA CORNER? GRIME IN ‘07: As Dizzee and Wiley went head to head with the release of their third albums, Matt Reed assesses the pair of LPs, and the state of the scene that birthed them.
FIX UP LOOK SHARP
STAND UP TALL:
SIRENS: