subject: Dizzee Rascal - rap story [print this page] Dizzee Rascal - rap story Dizzee Rascal - rap story
Hip hop and rap hail from American ghettos,this is no fresh discovery, so for anyone outside U.S. it would be very hard to make it in this genre. We bring you the story of the biggest European hip hop star - Dizzee Rascal .
Born October 1st,1985 Dylan Kwabena Mills became the Brittish #1 rapper under his stage name Dizzee Rascal. Born in Bow,East London,Dizzee lost his father at a young age and was raised by his mother Priscilla,a Gahnian imigrant. As a violent child D Double E was gettin kicked out of schools a lot but his mom made sure he always went back, and it was a teacher that first started callin him Rascal. Cagey about his youth Dizzee mentioned fighting with teachers, stealing cars and robbing pizza delivery men.He first started dabbling with music in the fifth grade, and the history was made.
When talkin 'bout his music Dizzee says he wants to master it like Bruce Lee mastered martial arts.His music is a mixture of UK Garage and Hip Hop beats with a broad blend of various sounds.He has a very distinctive vocal performance as he uses a fast style of rapping with topics mostly sticking to the social problems of his generation.
Aged 16, he self-produced his first single, 'I Luv U' a song that paved the way for his first studio album Boy In Da Corner. In what might have initially seemed like a press stunt to cynics, Mills was stabbed several times while performing at Ayia Napa, a resort in Cyprus, the same week of his debut release. The album recived a Mercury Prize award in 2003 which made Dizzee the youngest musician to recieve the prestigeous award. The biggest success on the album was his 2nd single 'Fix Up,Look Sharp' .He saw his album receive a U.S. release in January of 2004. He became more of an underground sensation stateside; Anglophiles with equal love for dance music and hip-hop tended to embrace him, while others found themselves baffled by all of the hype. In September of 2004, Dizzee released Showtime worldwide,his secondd album that debuted the UK Charts at #8.His third studio effort 'Maths + English' was released in 2007 and was as successful as the previous two and also gotten its U.S. release in 2008.Around that time Dizzee was arrested over a beating incident involving a baseball bat but was subsequently released on bail.
'Tounge N Cheek' his fourth studio album was released in September 2009.It included his four #1 hits (Dance Wiv Me,Holiday,Bonkers and Dirtee Disco) . The album won the Best Male Award at Brit Awards where he performed a mash-up entitled 'You Got The Dirtee Love' with Florence and the Machine. This collaboration was released as a charity single the following day and peaked at number 2 in the UK charts. Dizzee now holds the record for the most number one singles on an album by solo male artist.
Dizzee was almost signed to Def Jam and at that time he was the opener for the Jay Z concert in London on Wembley Stadium (a stadium that holds legenddary status in England) . The deal never happened and D Double E now has his own record label called Dirtee Stank Recordings.
Just as it usually happens great success is often followed by great tragedy. In July 2008 Rascal's ex girlfriend Kaya Bousquet, whom he had dated for two years died in a high speed crash which Dizzee said was devastated by. The event made a big impact on Dylan Mills as he decided to make a change in his life. "I'm not having any alcohol. No weed. I'm not doing anything except some boxing to release energy."
A listener needs to make a transition from U.S. to UK rap due to the different accent and slang,but it's remarkable how the two are intertwined. Brittish rappers often face the same problems as the Americans,and the success of rap in Britian of course recived political attention. Two prominent politicians targeted "black music", allegedly "blaming rap for 'glorifying gun culture and violence. Dizzee himself has been quoted by UK newspapers for one particular lyric - "I'm a problem for Anthony Blair''. During the 2008 U.S. presidential elecetion Dizzee described Barrack Obama "an immediate symbol of unity".
As a true Brit one has to be a football fan (known as soccer in The States),as the game has almost religious status in Great Britain. Dizzee Rascal is a West Ham United supporter. And with the eyes of England set on the World Cup Dizzee recently released a video 'Shout For England' ,an official England supporter's song for the World Cup 2010.
