Dizzee Rascal - Will.i.am Influenced By Dizzee Rascal

Will.i.am Influenced By Dizzee Rascal

Dizzee Rascal says Will.i.am was influenced by his track 'Bonkers'.

Black Eyed Peas singer and producer Will.i.am took his band to new heights of popularity in 2009 with the dance pop sound of tracks such as 'I Gotta Feeling' and 'Boom Boom Pow', and Dizzee says his single - released the same year and produced by influential DJ Armand Van Helden - was an influence on them.

He told The Guardian newspaper: ''We took 'Bonkers' around and they weren't ready for it, and now that's what everyone's doing, and every big producer I meet, like Will.i.am, talks about how they were influenced by Bonkers and it's like, oh, for f**k's sake, do you know what I mean?''

Dizzee's commercial streak started after his third album, 'Maths + English' with the track 'Dance Wiv Me', but his record company, XL, turned it down.

Instead, he decided to release it himself and embarked on a run of five consecutive UK number one singles.

He added: ''The fact they didn't want the track was just like, 'Oh now I don't understand you.' When people hear this they're going to think you forced me to do this, and I'm giving it to you on a plate because I'm done with all that, I can't be any more experimental and win, so this is the way I am now and I'm enjoying it.''