Dizzee Rascal Wiki Information
Dylan Kwabena Mills
[1] (born 1985 in Bow, London [2]), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal
, is a British rapper, songwriter and record producer of Ghanaian and Nigerian descent. [3] His music is a blend of garage MCing, conventional rap, grime and ragga, with extremely eclectic samples and more exotic styles. His debut album, Boy in da Corner
, won him the 2003 Mercury Prize. Follow-up albums Showtime
and Maths + English
have been critically acclaimed.
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DIZZEE RASCAL TICKETS
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Early life
Mills was born in
Bow,
East London. His father died when he was young, and he was raised for most of his life in a single-parent family by his African-born mother,
[4] who worked two jobs.
[5]
He attended a series of schools in East London, excluded from four
secondary schools in four years - it was a
teacher who first called him Rascal.
Cagey about exactly what his youthful "madnesses" entailed, in early interviews he mentioned fighting with teachers, stealing cars and robbing pizza delivery men.
In the fifth school,
Langdon Park in
Poplar, he was excluded from most classes except music.
He began making music on the school's computer, encouraged by a music teacher, Mr Smith
, and during the summer holidays attended a music workshop organised by
Tower Hamlets Summer University [6][ of which he is now a patron][. His mother bought him his first turntables.
]
Music and style
Dizzee once told author Ben Thompson in an interview with the Sunday's Observer magazine that, “Everything I do is for the music – I want to master it like Bruce Lee mastered martial arts." [7]
His music is an eclectic mixture of garage and hip-hop beats with an extremely broad palette of influences, ranging from metal guitars to found sounds, drill and bass synth lines, eclectic samples and even Japanese court music. It can best be summarised as a high-octane tribal skank, or even an unreconstructed step-up council skank on a bed of wilted urban metaphors and a spit-roasted jus de kuro. Dizzee makes extensive use of un-coupled octuplets and double & triple couplets in his machine-gun paced rapacious stacato lyrics. Like most grime artists, he uses "beats born of ringtones, video games and staticky pirate-radio sounds" [8] Dizzee's tracks are traditional Grime in that the beats are often asymmetrical and make it difficult to dance to his music. His vocal performance is also distinctive; he uses a fast style of rapping which blends elements from garage MCing, conventional rap, grime and ragga. He raps about the same issues a confused generation of youth tends to; broken family, faithless mentors and a lack of support. [9] Dizzee's videos are similar to many grime and garage artists in the UK. They are frenetic and fast, often matching the speed of the rapping. This is especially visible in the videos to Fix Up, Look Sharp and I Luv U. Although his fast style of rapping and his subject matter are nothing more than ordinary in the UK, Dizzee Rascal's diversity nonetheless separates him from other UK rappers. In his song Brand New Day, Dizzee Rascal used "flat, punching out riddims into cheap PC software, beats born of ringtones, video games, and staticky pirate-radio sounds".[ He is able to change his sound of music completely, by using different processor. In Jus' a Rascal, he uses "T.O.K.'s hysterical dancehall harmonies, a synthesized guitar line halfway between death metal and English Beat, stuttering Southern hi-hats and a kick drum retarded to a crawl".][
]
Dizzee is grime's most popular artist globally, and is arguably the best-known grime artist to most people. He worked closely with his mentor Wiley who created one of the first grime tracks called Eskimo [10]. Grime is still considered underground, even after Dizzee's mainstream exposure Dizzee's DJ, DJ Semtex, says, "the biggest conflict I have is with major labels because they still don’t get it." [11].
Career
Experimenting with his decks and styles, he became an amateur DJ, with occasional appearances on a local pirate radio station. Aged 16, he self-produced his first single, "I Luv U," about teenage pregnancy. [12] In 2002, he jointly formed Roll Deep Crew, a 13-piece garage collective, with former school friends. Signed by the XL record label, he also signed a solo deal. [13]
After winning a Sidewinder Award for Best Newcomer MC in 2002, in June 2003 the re-recorded and re-produced by Jacob Freitt single I Luv U
was released, becoming a top 30 hit single.
Boy in da Corner
The solo album Boy in da Corner
was released to universal critical acclaim in August 2003, entering the UK top 40 at #40. The album later reached #23. In the same week the album was released, while performing with Roll Deep Crew, the rapper was stabbed six times in Ayia Napa. Many tabloids suggested that this event was connected to an apparent feud between Dizzee and UK Top 40-topping garage act So Solid Crew, and his pinching Lisa Maffia's bottom. After Dizzee was hospitalised, So Solid Crew member Megaman - real name Dwayne Vincent - was later questioned about the incident, but was immediately released by Cypriot police. [14]
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Following the success of single
I Luv U
and the album, the second single from
Boy in da Corner
was "
Fix Up, Look Sharp". The single, released in August 2003, gave Dizzee his first UK top 20 single and also became the biggest hit from his debut album. In September, Dizzee was awarded the prestigious
Mercury Prize for the best album of 2003.
He was the youngest person (at 19) to do so and the second rapper (after
Ms. Dynamite the previous year). The album was also chosen as the #1 album of the year by
Planet Sound.
Along with being picked as the #1 album of the year by Planet Sound,
Boy in da Corner
was also chosen as one of the top 50 albums of the year by
Rolling Stone
, joining the likes of
Kanye West,
Mos Def,
Eminem, and
Jadakiss for 2004.
[15] His unique style, as "words pour out at a high pitch and pace, as if syllables are the only thing that can hold back a scream," have given him a sound that hip hop heads can embrace as something new and original in the hip hop scene.
Later in the year he collaborated with the
Basement Jaxx on their third album,
Kish Kash
on the track "Lucky Star". The track, which was released as a single in November 2003 and gave Dizzee his third top 30 hit. The third and final single, taken from his debut album, was "Jus' a Rascal", which became his fourth top 30 success. The song was also featured in the movie
Kidulthood, released in 2006.
"Jezebel" was never released from the album
Boy in da Corner
, but was well received and was exposed to well reviews and popularity on the underground scene. The song told the tale of a young London girl, who through years of going to parties, getting drunk, doing drugs and having sex earned herself the title
Jezebel. He made his U.S. concert debut on February 7 2004 at Volume in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn New York.
Showtime
In 2004, Dizzee Rascal won the
NME
award for Innovation. His second album,
Showtime
, came out in September of the same year, eclipsing the peak of his debut album by entering the UK album chart at #8. The first single from the album, released two weeks earlier in August 2004, was titled
Stand Up Tall
; it was written and produced by DJ Youngstar and entered the UK top 10.
The second single "Dream", another top 20 hit, was released in November 2004. It sampled (and used the chorus of)
Captain Sensible's song "Happy Talk", originally from the makers of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical,
South Pacific
. The "Dream" music video consisted of a mock 1950s style children's
marionette show depicting scenes corresponding to the lyrics about Mills' East London youth: street culture, crime, single teenage mothers,
pirate radio and garage clubs.
Later in 2004, Dizzee Rascal was part of
Band Aid 20, a group of British musicians who re-recorded "
Do They Know It's Christmas?" He did not sing in the song; rather, he rapped two lines of it ("
Spare a thought this yuletide for the deprived, if the table was turned would you survive?
" and "
You ain't gotta feel guilt just selfless, give a little help to the helpless
"). Dizzee Rascal was the first person to add to the song since the original was released.
In 2004, Dizzee Rascal made an international endorsement deal with urban brand
Ecko and designed his own shoe with
Nike in 2005.
In March 2005, the
Double A-side single "Off 2 Work" / "Graftin" was released. "Graftin'" was the third and final single from the
Showtime
album, whilst "Off 2 Work" was a new track that did not appear on either of his albums. The accompanying music video featured Rascal in various ordinary workplace situations (as a policeman, a fast food vendor, a businessman, etc.) and
PM Dizzee Rascal
announcing his engagement to
Cherie Blair. This was Dizzee's lowest charting single and smallest hit to date, peaking outside the UK top 40 at #44.
Maths + English
Dizzee's third album
Maths + English
was released on 4 June 2007. He stated in an interview before the album's release that "Maths" refers to producing, in terms of beats, deals and money
[16] and "English" to writing lyrics.
[17] The first single off this album,
Sirens
, was released on May 21. While American influences were vital to the creative evolution of “Maths & English,” the album never compromises its distinctively British identity.
The album was one of the 12 nominees for the 2007 Mercury Prize, which went to
Klaxons' album
Myths of the Near Future
.
[18] Dizzee worked with cross genre artist
Beck on a remix of the song
Hell Yes. Dizzee has also provided guest vocals on an
Arctic Monkeys track, the B-Side to their single
Brianstorm named 'Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend'. Dizzee's version of the same song is featured as "Temptation" on his album
Maths + English. Also in late July 2008 he featured on Rory Campbell's album "smooth mover".
The official U.S. album was released on 29 April 2008 in retail stores. It contains 2 tracks not on the European release; however, it does not include the track "Pussyole'". It is to be released on
Definitive Jux.
[19]
In 2008, Dizzee Rascal recorded a song for a suicide charity,
CALM, Campaign Against Living Miserably; the song "Dean" is about a friend of Dizzee's who took his own life. In December that year, he was arrested following an alleged incident involving a baseball bat in Southeast London. He was released on bail to return to a police station later in December.
[20]
Tongue "N" Cheek
Dizzee Rascal will release his upcoming fourth studio album
Tongue "N" Cheek
on 7 September. It will include his three number-one hits
Dance Wiv Me,
Holiday and
Bonkers. Its release was recently announced on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross when in an interview with Jonathan Ross, Dizzee Rascal announced some details about the upcoming album, including track information, production etc. Dizzee, recently confirmed in an interview on Radio One, that he is leaving his grime roots behind, in favour of more mainstream pop. On May 23, 2009,
Calvin Harris whom he collaborated with on the number-one smash
"Dance Wiv Me"
, revealed on his Twitter that he was producing a Dizzee track. At the Evolution Festival Newcastle and when on tour supporting
The Prodigy, he confirmed that there will be two new singles called "Road Rage" and "Dirty Cash" which will be on the album.
Politics
A measure of the success of Dizzee and of Grime as a whole is the political attention it has received in the UK. Two prominent politicians, then
Home Secretary David Blunkett and
Culture Minister Kim Howells, have targeted 'black music', and have been accused of "blaming rap for 'glorifying gun culture and violence.'"
[ Dizzee himself has been quoted by UK newspaper for his line that says "I'm a problem for Anthony Blair"][.
]
During the 2008 US presidential elections, Dizzee gave a live interview to Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman, in which he described Barack Obama as "an immediate symbol of unity". Referred to by Paxman as "Mr Rascal", he suggested that hip-hop played an important part in encouraging young voters and humorously opined that he could well one day become Prime Minister. [21]
Dirtee Stank
Dizzee Rascal has created his own record label, called Dirtee Stank. Dizzee Rascal's explanation of the name: "The name came from one of the first lyrics I had: "going on dirty/going on stank…So I thought "yeah fuck it, Dirtee Stank."." [22] Dizzee has stated "I had Dirtee Stank before I had my record deal". The first white label release of 'I Luv U' was made on Dirtee Stank, released when he was 16, [23] although both of his albums and their subsequent singles have been released under XL Recordings. It was not until 2005 that Dizzee Rascal 'revived' the label and made his first signings, Klass A, [24] and Newham Generals. The label's MySpace page states that the ethos of the company is "about bridging the gap between indie, majors and the street. Stank is the way forwards". The label's logo is a picture of flies circling faeces - when asked why this logo was chosen, Dizzee stated that it was the: "streetest thing I could think of".
The label was formed and is owned by Dizzee Rascal, and is co-run by Dizzee's manager, Cage. According to Cage, Dirtee Stank exists to promote gifted artists with "social problems" that might scare off other labels. "People who, through the conditions they live in, might not be stable." The label should also help artists overcome hurdles such as access to studios that "take something from a raw demo to something people will get excited about on the street".
He released the single "Dance Wiv Me", featuring UK electro artist Calvin Harris and RnB artist Chrome, on July 7 2008. The track became Jo Whiley's Pet Sound for the week beginning June 2 2008. The single charted at Number 1 on download sales alone, a week before its physical release. His next two singles, Bonkers and Holiday, were also released under the record label, and these two again charted at Number 1.
Discography
;Studio albums
- Boy in da Corner
(2003)
- Showtime
(2004)
- Maths + English
(2007)
- Tongue "N" Cheek
(2009)
Awards & Nominations
- Mercury Prize
- * 2003, Best Newcomer (Won)
- Urban Music Awards
- * 2009, Best Male (Nominated)
References
- ASCAP: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
- Matthew McKinnon: ''Grime Wave''. CBC.ca 5 May 2005
- Dizzee Heights for Dizzee Rascal
- Dizzee Rascal says he's calmed down since his days of crime..
- I've been through madnesses
- Dizee Rascal Net - News"
- Thompson, Ben. Observer's Music Monthly. April 17,2007.
- Chang, Jeff. "Future Shock". Village Voice, 19 January 2004.
- village voice > music > Future Shock by Jeff Chang
- True Grime: The New Yorker
- BBC - collective - will grime pay?
- Dizzee Rascal: You Ask The Questions
- Garage star stabbed in Cyprus
- So Solid star quizzed over attack
- The Top 50 Albums of 2004 : Rolling Stone
- MySpace.com - Dizzee Rascal - London, UK - Garage / Hip Hop / Rap - www.myspace.com/dizzeerascal
- Dizzee Rascal Interview - Nottingham Articles - LeftLion.co.uk
- Bloomberg.com: Muse Arts
- ''HHWorlds.com'' - Dizzee Rascal's Maths + English Gets US Release Date (January 21, 2008)
- BBC News Online - Dizzee Rascal held in 'bat' probe
- Dizzee Rascal on Obama's win
- http://www.myspace.com/dirteestankrecordings Accessed September 7, 2007
- Dizzee Rascal, Rebel with a Cause
- Dizzee Rascal seeks new urban artists