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Dylan Mills, known professionally as Dizzee Rascal (born 1985 in Bow, East London)NETQUOTEVAR:1, is a Mercury Prize-winning English MC/rapper and producer. His (largely self-composed) music is a blend of garage MCing, conventional rap, grime and ragga, with extremely eclectic samples and more exotic styles.
Dizzee Rascal grew up in the East End of London in south Bow in a council estate. As a teenager, he was detained for stealing cars and robbing a pizza deliveryman, and expelled from four high schools. A sympathetic music teacher introduced him to music production on a school computer. He began MCing on pirate radio and at raves at fifteen, but since his mainstream success he has distanced himself from the fledgling scene. He used to be a member of the Roll Deep crew, until a conflict with former friend Wiley.
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. His vocal performance is also distinctive, he uses a fast style of rapping which blends elements from garage MCing, conventional rap, grime and ragga.
In 2004, Dizzee Rascal made an international endorsement deal with urban brand Ecko and designed his own shoe with Nike in 2005.
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 and English.
His acting debut came in a cameo appearance in London-based black gangster film Rollin' With The Nines (2006) where he played a drug dealer.
After winning a Sidewinder award for 'best newcomer MC' in 2002, his 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. The album was preceded in June 2003 by the top 30 hit single I Luv U, a tale of accidental teenage pregnancy. In the same year the rapper was stabbed five 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. Dizzee has been described as "the vital unvarnished voice of modern-day inner-city London" [citation needed], and social commentary is usually present in most of his tracks. Despite the often serious content of his music, there are frequently humorous elements to be found.
Following the success of the I Luv U single 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.
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, translated as a slut, slag, whore etc. The fictional girl in the story was a teenage mother to two little girls, who would no doubt grow up to be just like their mother. Dizzee wrote the song as an account of his real life and the types of people that surrounded him.
He made his U.S. concert debut on February 7, 2004 at Volume in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.
