| There’s nothing more paradoxical than putting the words, "numerous," "quality," "British" and "rappers" together in the same sentence. For whatever reason, despite a history of being able to appropriate and mutate American music with a distinctly British flavour, U.K. artists have never managed to successfully convert hip-hop into their own vernacular with the same flair and force they’ve applied to other musical genres.
Enter East London’s Dizzee Rascal. This 19-year-old rapper-MC scorched onto the scene with his brilliant 2003 debut album, Boy In Da Corner, garnering overnight recognition by winning the Mercury Prize (arguably Britain’s most prestigious music award), beating out the likes of Radiohead, Coldplay and The Darkness.
"To me," says Rascal by phone from London, "winning the Prize is a major achievement because on Boy In Da Corner, I really got adventurous with a lot of my ideas, and wasn’t scared to put it down. To be recognized artistically like that, it made it all the more worthwhile."
The record is clearly a product of the U.K., as it owes as much to sparse-sounding U.K. garage music and pirate radio as it does to American hip-hop. Borrowing the spirit of Grandmaster Flash’s "The Message," the articulate lyrics in his songs like "Sitting Here" and "I Love You" describe the gritty, inner-city life through Rascal’s own eyes, and his squawking vocal delivery projects the bleakness and drug-infestation that has overcome his East London neighbourhood.
"Sometimes it all boils down to that now, man - it just comes down to drug activity. There’s a lot more shooting, a lot more bullshit going on now, because of the drugs. It’s just your typical inner city life, which you can get a real sense of on the album."
If Boy In Da Corner is an expression of his darker experiences, life after the release of the record has been nothing if not bright. Only in his wildest dreams did he think that he would be so successful making music, and even now, Rascal has not come completely to terms with his sudden glory.
"It’s kind of surreal," says Rascal. "(My success) don’t always register, it don’t always sink in. So everyday that I wake up, I ask myself, ‘Is this some kind of joke? Where are we?’ Everytime I moan about it, I just remember I’m just grandin’. It’s a wicked hustle. (The music business) is kind of fucked, but I love it all."
On the subject of surreal and loving it all, Rascal expanded his horizons and fan base by opening for Justin Timberlake on the three dates Timberlake played in London. Rascal admits he’s not sure how he was chosen to be the opening act for Timberlake, but he’s not complaining.
"I just know that for the past few days," says Rascal, "I’ve just been onstage in front of thousands of screaming girls. It’s the best thing you could ever do. I recommend it to anyone.
"At first, I was a bit scared touring with Justin, but I know that he got the Neptunes and Timbaland behind him. And they’re really experimental, so I know that, at least, they got quite a bit of open-minded people in your crowd, y’know what I mean? But it’s been crazy for three days."
From releasing arguably the best hip-hop record ever from the U.K., to becoming the youngest ever to win the Mercury Prize, to opening for Timberlake, and to being stabbed a number of times supposedly as a result of rivalling U.K. garage crews (a subject which Rascal is reluctant to discuss), the last half year, let alone the last three days, has been crazy for Mr. Rascal. And to think he’s just getting started.
CELEB TOP FIVE
Top 5 albums of 2003 according to Dizzee Rascal in no particular order:
1. The Black Album - Jay-Z
2. Chicken and Beer - Ludacris
3. The Neptunes Present… Clones — The Neptunes
4. Dangerously In Love - Beyoncé
5. Da Unbreakables - Three 6 Mafia |
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