Dylan Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is an English rapper, grime MC, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of grime, UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. Best known for his number-one hits "Dance wiv Me", "Bonkers", "Holiday", "Dirtee Disco" and "Shout", his debut album Boy in da Corner won him the 2003 Mercury Prize. Follow-up albums Showtime, Maths + English and Tongue n' Cheek have been critically acclaimed and certified gold, the last going platinum for sales exceeding 300,000 units in the United Kingdom.Dizzee Rascal's Nigerian father died when he was young, and he was raised in Bow, in the East End of London, in a single-parent family, by his Ghanaian mother Priscilla, about whom he says: "I had issues as a kid. I was violent and disruptive. The way my mum helped was by finding me a different school every time I got kicked out, always fighting to keep me in the school system".
He attended a series of schools in East London, and was expelled from four of them, including St Paul's Way Community School. He also went to Langdon Park Secondary School in East London. Reportedly, it was around this time that a teacher was the first to call him "Rascal".Cagey about exactly what Mills' youthful "madnesses" entailed, in early interviews he mentioned fighting with teachers, stealing cars, and robbing pizza delivery men. In the fifth school he was excluded from all classes except music. He also used to attend YATI (Young Actors Theatre Islington).
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 of which he is now a patron. His mother bought him his first turntables.
He was a childhood friend of footballer Danny Shittu, whom Dizzee Rascal described as "like a big brother"
Dizzee Rascal 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".
Dizzee Rascal worked closely with his mentor Wiley, who created one of the first grime tracks, called "Eskimo". Grime is today still considered underground, despite Dizzee's large mainstream exposure. Dizzee's DJ, DJ Semtex, says, "the biggest conflict I have is with major labels because they still don't get it". Andy Bennett and Jon Stratton highlight in the book Britpop and the English Music Tradition (2010) how Rascal alongside Sway and M.I.A. created music that explored new soundscapes with new technologies, with lyrics expressing anger at Britain's "racialized" subordination of minority groups and that the innovation that generates new musical forms like grime and dubstep that are, inevitably, politically engaged. The chart success of grime-influenced artists like Rascal is heralded as a signal in the way that white Britons are adapting to a new multicultural and plural musical mix in contrast to previous bands.
On New Year's Day 2011, Dizzee Rascal released DirteeTV.com alongside the Newham Generals, D Double E and Footsie. The 25-track mixtape was released as a free download, and included features from fellow rappers JME, Kano, Scrufizzer, Example, Rapid, Chronik, Hyper and Smurfie Syco. The mixtape featured tracks by Rascal both new and old.
Dizzee Rascal performing with Muse on their Stadium Tour in 2013
In 2012 he was also expected to have a collaboration with Snoop Dogg on either his new album or Snoop Dogg's new album Reincarnated.[29] His first collaboration with DJ Fresh, "The Power" was the third single from Fresh's third studio album, released in September 2012. Dizzee was given the honour of performing during the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.
On Calvin Harris's third studio album, 18 Months, Dizzee Rascal paired up with Harris and Dillon Francis to create the track "Here 2 China".
Dizzee Rascal's album The Fifth was released in 2013. The lead single was "Goin' Crazy" featuring Robbie Williams.
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