Boy in da corner happy to be back
Dizzee Rascal is still delightfully bonkers,
In 2003, at the end of an interview, I asked Dizzee Rascal, aka Dylan Kwabena Mills, what he’d like me to ask him if we were to speak again in 10 years’ time. Back then, he was just 18 and British music’s bright young thing.
A fierce pack of British music journalists were camped outside his mother’s front door in Bow, East London, where many choose to carry knives as a matter of course. He was alarmed by the instant fame. The hip-hop artist, producer and a pioneer of the grime genre had just won the prestigious UK Mercury Prize, ahead of Radiohead and Coldplay, for Boy in da Corner, the startlingly bleak album chronicling the police brutality, drugs and violence in his area.
He recorded it at 16. It was described by one critic as ‘‘the sort of sounds you’d want during the evacuation of a building on fire’’ atop ‘‘Cockney-accented tirades’’.
On album highlight Brand New Day, for example, Dizzee raps about his view of the streets: ‘‘looks like I’m losing mates, there’s a lot of hostility near my gate, we used to scrap with other estates, now the 8mm settles debates’’.
Elsewhere, a young Dizzee – given the nickname by a teacher at one of the multiple schools he was expelled from before he found music – opines: ‘‘I’m vexed at humanity, vexed at the Earth, I keep getting vexed till I think, ‘What’s it worth?’’’
Back to that question, finally answered 15 years later.
At 18, talking to a stranger at the bottom of the world, Dizzee wanted to ask his future self what is the ‘‘biggest thing he’s learned’’.
‘‘Oh, I was so far ahead of myself,’’ he says now, aged 33. ‘‘Feel the energy, whoa... In the last 15 years I’ve learned to keep a grip on reality, yeah, because the entertainment side is cool, fame is cool but you have to learn to navigate in the real world and don’t believe the hype too much... That and take care of family, take care of your people.’’
Boy in da Corner is considered a grime classic. In the past 15 years, Dizzee has released six albums, worked with the who’s who of UK rap artists and expanded his sound to incorporate elements of garage and R&B.
Most know him for his No 1 hits, including Holiday, Shout, Dance Wiv Me, Dirtee Disco, You Got the Dirtee Love – a collaboration with indie stars Florence and the Machine and, of course, his massive hit, Bonkers.
‘‘That’s the word everyone shouts when they see me.’’
Latest album Raskit, the title taken from one of his nicknames, sees him return to his rap roots. There’s even a diss track on there if you know where to look. I don’t ask in the same way I don’t ask about the time he was on holiday in Cyprus and miraculously survived being stabbed five times.
We talk about music, in particular, the last track on Raskit, Man of the Hour. It is his favourite.
‘‘It’s got that soulful vibe to it and I’m just talking about things that happened in my childhood and things along the way, it just came together.’’
He spins off on a tangent, recalling a trip from Miami to Texas to visit producer, Cardno, who has worked with the likes of Jay Z and Drake.
‘‘Yeah, he’s on five of these tracks,’’ says Dizzee. ‘‘I got to his house at like two in the morning, he was playing beats and when he played the beat that ended up being on Man of the Hour ,I automatically stood up.’’
When he hears something he likes, Dizzee always stands up. It is, he confides, his barometer of a good beat.
‘‘I start tapping my head but if a tune grabs me I usually stand up, I can’t help it.’’
He’s been performing in New Zealand ever since he began his music career. This week, he returns to these shores to headline Auckland’s Splore festival, held at Tapapakanga Regional Park from today to Sunday, and in Christchurch at the Electric Avenue festival tomorrow , alongside fellow Brits, Primal Scream.
‘‘Legends, legends.’’
The first time Dizzee visited New Zealand he really was dizzy, feeling as if he was on ‘‘another planet’’. It was the first time he experienced jetlag.
I remember seeing him at an Auckland venue while in New Zealand around the time of his performance at the Big Day Out festival in 2008. It was an unusual sight – Dizzee was with a group of executives from MTV. Korn was there, too, with 50 Cents’ crew, G-Unit.
‘‘I remember that festival, the vibe was crazy. Any time I’m there the shows are so live, so energetic. New Zealand is one of those places that has always been really ahead with music, really open minded. I’ll keep coming back there forever. If it was a bit closer, I’d even buy a house there.’’
In the past 15 years, he’s learned how to handle fame.
‘‘I find it easy to avoid the paparazzi. It depends on how you move, you’re always out and about lurking on the club scene, putting yourself out there, I think it’s quite avoidable. There are plenty of bars and restaurants the paparazzi don’t go to. People don’t need paparazzi no more, with Snapchat and Instagram people showing you what they’re up to.’’
There’s a new album in the works and he’s excited about a song with Brighton-based rapper Ocean Wisdom. ‘‘His album drops this week, I’ve done a song for him and I’m looking forward to that coming out.’’
On stage in New Zealand this weekend, he reckons audiences are going to particularly enjoy his new track, Space. ‘‘People seem to love that live. That one’s fun to perform.’’
What should we talk about in 10 years? ‘‘Let’s what and see what the future brings,’’ he says, followed by a hearty laugh. ‘‘Wait and see.’’
"New Zealand is one of those places that has always been really ahead with music, really open minded. I'll keep coming back there forever." Dizzee Rascal
❚ Electric Avenue, Christchurch’s Hagley Park, tomorrow from 11am. See electricavenuefestival.co.nz Splore, Tapapakanga Regional Park, today till Sunday. For more information, see splore.net