Dizzee Rascal

Dizzee Rascal (born Dylan Mills, 1985)

Dizzee Rascal is a London-born MC and grime producer. His debut album, Boy In Da Corner brought him to national attention and won the 2003 Mercury Music Prize.

Dizzee Rascal: Music Style

Dizzee Rascal's music combines sounds and production techniques from a wide range of musical genres, from hip-hop and garage, to heavy metal and drill and bass.

Vocally, Dizzee's flow is fast and clipped, blending influences from ragga, garage and rap.

Despite the mainstream exposure that Dizzee has received following the success of his album releases, grime music remains largely ignored by major record labels, radio stations and the record-buying public.

Dizzee Rascal: Music

In his early career, Dizzee worked with his mentor, Wiley. Together, they created some of the earliest grime music, including a track called 'Eskimo'. The pair later had a disagreement and no longer work together.

In 2002, Rascal won the Sidewinder award for Best Newcomer MC. Following the win, his debut album, Boy in Da Corner was released, to critical praise. The track 'I Luv U' was the first single from the album. Following the release of the album, Dizzee Rascal was stabbed whilst he was in Ayia Napa. The press coverage of the incident suggested a connection between the stabbing and an ongoing dispute with the So Solid Crew. The second single from the album was 'Fix Up Look Sharp'.

In September 2003, Dizzee Rascal won the highly regarded Mercury Music Prize, making him the youngest person ever to win the award.

In November of the same year, Basement Jaxx released 'Lucky Star', featuring Dizzee Rascal, from their album Kish Kash. Dizzee also released Jus' A Rascal' from his debut album and the track was picked up and featured in the soundtrack to the film Kidulthood.

Dizzee Rascal's second album, Showtime, was released in 2004 and entered the UK album chart at number eight. On 'Dream', Dizzee sampled Captain Sensible's version of 'Happy Talk' - originally from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific. Later that year, Rascal became the first artist to add new material to a version of 'Do They Know It's Christmas' when he added a rap to a new recording of the charity song, recorded as Band Aid 20.

Maths + English was Dizzee Rascal's third album and was released in June 2007. Maths + English followed in the footsteps of Dizzee's debut album and was nominated for the 2007 Mercury Music Prize. This time, however, he was beaten to the prize by Klaxons, with their Myths Of The Near Future album.

In July 2008, Dizzee Rascal's collaboration with Calvin Harris, 'Dance Wiv Me' became a massive summer chart hit, reaching number one in the UK singles chart.

In December 2008, Dizzee Rascal was arrested in London, following an incident involving a baseball bat.

Dizzee Rascal: Label-owner

Dizzee's label is called Dirtee Stank and was the home of his first white label release, 'I Luv U'. In 2005, Dizzee re-launched the label, releasing records by Newham Generals and Klass A.