this week Dizzee Rascal hit the UK number one chart spot with his single ‘’Dance with me’’ on download sales alone. Do you even understand how big this is? Dizzee is a beautiful example of a black British act that hasn’t ever paid heed to his hecklers, or let the drama and haters affect his hustle. He works hard and thinks out of the box and with his label and homeboy DJ Semtex pushing him 24-7, this possible one hit wonder that had all the mainstream press on him a few years ago has continued his rising star with a work ethnic that has to be seen to be believed. He performed at Glastonbury and Wireless this month too. The day before he hit that number one spot I caught up with him and he was on cloud 9 revelling in the fact that there was a biding war over him and he could name his price. After I congratulated him he admitted ‘’Feels good to be number one on downloads right now, I’m on my own label, dirty stank- it’s the first release before we put out the Newham Generals album and the Jammer album. It’s a nice situation to be in at the end of a record contract. Its good to still be making music and people are dancing’’. Dizzee is smart. He knows that sometimes it’s not about being the best mc or rapper but giving the public a great track that they want to dance to. Dizzee revealed he got together with singer Calvin Harris at a festival in Preston. ‘’we approached each other, exchanged numbers Went back and forth for a few months until he finally sent me the track digitally. We didn’t meet to do the track at all, and it was a rap bwoy!’’.
Some people find it controversial that Dizzee has had to switch up music styles to find success in the UK, cause people are very touchy about genres and selling out. Dizzee explained ‘’ I’ve always tried to do something different with every song, i'm in a space now where obviously when I put a record out I want things to get played at radio, I want things to go down well at festival, I want things to be played in all different kinds of walks in life so I do what’s gotta be done and as long as its of a certain quality it’s cool with me man’’. See. Smart boy. Everyone is trying to get a bite at the Dizzee pie right now and he has a choice of staying on his own label or signing with majors. He laughed ‘’I’m the mother-fucking best. Yo a lot of labels are after me, it was how it was when I first started; there was a big bidding war. I think what’s different now is that a lot of people couldn’t see my direction or how far I was gonna go, a lot of people thought it would be over with the first album, heard the second thought I’d be over then, couldn’t see a third and even after this one couldn’t see where it was going, and this Calvin Harris thing came through,. That’s where my own label Dirty Stank could be the way forward now I’ve finally nailed a pop record’’.
Rather than go the route of most UK acts that want to break the USA Dizzee confessed he was feeling other continents moiré ; ‘’I think with America the whole situations very overrated right now, what’s really going well right now is Australia and New-Zeeland. I love being in Australia and New Zealand’’.
Then we chatted about the state of London and I wondered if Dizzee could ask mayor Boris Johnson any question what it would be . He replied ‘’as pathetic as it sounds and ignorant it sounds I don’t even know who the fuck that bredda is don’t really know or care man just stop fucking with the congestion charge man’’. As MTV BASE has a new fashion strand titled GOOD LOOK we asked Dizzies thoughts on women’s hairstyles. He didn’t hold back ‘’ I don’t mind the weave. If you’ve gotta weave its alright don’t watch it man its cool, cause mans hood init so i'm used to seeing that all day long. When I was younger I used to put Dax in my hair, sporting waves and the little jerry curl and all that, I tried cornrow once, I tried the Bobby Brown haircut instead I looked like Grace Jones!’’. Readers-all hail Dizzee-a man not afraid to try anything new or challenge the status quo-even if it has him looking like Grace Jones!.