Dizzee Rascal | |
---|---|
Rascal performing at Rock am Ring 2013
|
|
Background information | |
Birth name | Dylan Kwabena Mills |
Also known as |
|
Born |
London, England, United Kingdom |
18 September 1984
Origin | Bow, London, England, UK |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
|
Instruments |
|
Years active | 2000–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | |
Website | dizzeerascal |
Dirtee Stank Recordings | |
---|---|
Parent company | Universal Music Group |
Founded | 2003 |
Founder |
|
Status | Active |
Distributor(s) | Island Records |
Genre | |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Location | London |
Official website | www.dirteestank.com |
Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is an English hip hop recording artist and record producer. His music spans grime, UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. Best known for his number-one hits "Dance wiv Me", "Bonkers", "Holiday", "Dirtee Disco", and "Shout", "Hype" with Calvin Harris, his debut album Boy in da Corner is considered a grime classic and earned him the 2003 Mercury Prize. Follow-up albums Showtime, Maths + English, and Tongue n' Cheek have been critically acclaimed and certified gold, with Tongue n' Cheek going platinum for sales exceeding 300,000 units in the United Kingdom.
Mills was born in London. His Nigerian father died when Rascal was young, and he was raised in Bow, London, in a single-parent family, by his Ghanaian mother Priscilla, about whom he says, "I had issues as a kid. I was violent and disruptive. The way my mum helped was by finding me a different school every time I got kicked out, always fighting to keep me in the school system."