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Dizzee Rascal
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Dizzee Rascal, born Dylan Kwabena Mills in 1984 in Forest Gate, grew up in a single-parent family on a council estate in Bow, in the east of London. His father was Nigerian and died when he was two; his mother is Ghanaian. At school he was so difficult that he was expelled from four schools, and at the fifth he was only allowed to attend music lessons. There he began making music on the school's computer, encouraged by his teacher Joseph Robson.
Music and breakthrough
In 2002 he signed to the independent label XL Recordings. In 2003 his debut album Boy in da Corner appeared, which he produced himself. It received glowing reviews, won the Mercury Prize in 2003 and is often regarded as the best British hip hop album of all time. After that came Showtime in 2004 and Maths + English in 2007. His fifth album, The Fifth, from 2013, sounded more commercial, and in 2017 he returned to his grime roots with Raskit. He worked with, among others, Arctic Monkeys, Calvin Harris and Florence and the Machine.
Influence
Dizzee Rascal is regarded as a pioneer of British hip hop and of grime, a raw form of rap from London. His music also contains elements of UK garage, bassline and r&b. He brought British rap to a mass audience and was the first British rapper with international success. Boy in da Corner let people hear that the streets of East London had a sound of their own.
Listening
I Luv U · Dizzee Rascal, 2003Apple Music ↗
Discography
Studio albums
- 2003Boy in da Corner
- 2004Showtime
- 2007Maths + English
- 2009Tongue n’ Cheek
- 2013Fifth
- 2017Raskit
- 2020E3 AF
- 2023Boy in da Corner Instrumentals
- 2024Don’t Take It Personal
- 2026We Want Bass
Mentioned in other articles
- Grime Genre
In 2003 Dizzee Rascal won the Mercury Prize with his debut Boy in da Corner, and later Skepta and Stormzy became big stars.