Dizzee Rascal

Dizzee Rascal (born Dylan Kwabena Mills, 18 September 1984, Bow, London) is an English rapper and record producer associated with grime, UK garage and later dance-oriented pop. Emerging from East London’s early-2000s underground scene, he helped bring grime into the mainstream and became widely known after winning the Mercury Prize for his debut album Boy in da Corner.

Mills began recording as a teenager and gained attention through pirate radio, early releases and collaborations within the UK garage and grime circuits. His breakthrough came with Boy in da Corner, released in 2003, which combined sparse electronic production with rapid, accented delivery and vivid accounts of urban life. The album won the 2003 Mercury Prize and introduced a broader audience to the emerging grime sound. He followed it with Showtime (2004) and Maths + English (2007), developing his production and lyrical approach while maintaining links to the grime scene.

Dizzee Rascal reached his commercial peak in the late 2000s with a run of UK number one singles and a more club-focused sound. His album Tongue n’ Cheek (2009) included multiple chart-topping tracks, including “Bonkers”, “Dance wiv Me”, “Holiday” and “Dirtee Disco”, and became his best-selling album. In 2010 he won the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist, reflecting his crossover success during this period.

In the 2010s he continued recording and touring while alternating between pop-leaning singles and a return to grime-influenced material. Albums from this period included The Fifth (2013) and Raskit (2017), alongside collaborations with producers and artists across UK dance and pop. He released the album E3 AF in 2020, continuing to reference his East London roots while incorporating contemporary production styles.

Dizzee Rascal’s legacy rests on his role in establishing grime as a nationally and internationally recognised genre and on the influence of Boy in da Corner on later UK rap and electronic music. His early work is frequently cited in accounts of the development of grime, while his late-2000s singles helped broaden the audience for UK urban music in mainstream pop contexts. Across different phases of his career, he has remained associated with the sound and language of East London’s music scene.