Dizzee Rascal, a British hip-hop musician, pioneer of the grime genre, MC, and rapper, will soon be arriving in the Baltics to deliver memorable performances in Tallinn and Riga, once again proving to his audience that he remains the best representative of his music genre.
30.04. Estonia, Tallinn, Helitehas
01.05. Latvia, Riga, Palladium Riga
The highly anticipated album "Don't Take It Personal" dropped in February of this year, introducing the poignant single "How Did I Get So Calm" and reaffirming Dizzee's musical prowess. Throughout his career, Dizzee Rascal has collaborated with industry heavyweights like Calvin Harris, Robbie Williams, and will.i.am, showcasing his versatility and influence. His latest album demonstrates his mastery of blending diverse British genres while staying true to his authentic storytelling, reflecting his commitment to creating meaningful music.
Dizzee Rascal has always strived for excellence. The artist has stated that in music, he aims to reach the same level of mastery as Bruce Lee in martial arts. He has also previously secured the top spot in the battle for the role of the first black James Bond, leaving actor Will Smith in second place. Ambitious but not without reason - his debut single "I Luv U" (2002), released at the age of sixteen, is considered a cornerstone of the grime music genre, akin to the punk anthem "Anarchy in the U.K." Numerous music awards winner, Dizzee Rascal is included in the list of the most influential musicians of the century by the music magazine Q.
Born in London in 1984, the musician, whose real name is Dylan Mills, lost his father early and was raised by his mother alone. He was such a disobedient and loud, even aggressive boy that his mother moved him from school to school several times because he refused to learn anything except music. One teacher called Dylan a rascal, which later became part of his stage name. He began creating his own music on a school computer, but on weekends, he attended music workshops at Tower Hamlets Summer University. Dizzee's musical interests have been diverse and not limited to electronic music he created himself - much to the surprise of his friends, he was an avid reader of the heavy metal magazine Kerrang!, idolizing guitar-clad rockers in leather jackets, and in the nineties, he was a fan of grunge, especially the band Nirvana.
Historically, in the development of popular music genres, since the emergence of recordings (especially since the mid-twentieth century), there has been interaction between the two major trendsetters - the USA and Britain, competing with each other and offering an answer to the music trend established across the ocean, thereby establishing a new genre, which is also given a name. One such genre at the beginning of this millennium was Grime, and Dizzee Rascal is rightfully recognized as one of its pioneers.
Grime is an electronic dance music genre with an average tempo of 140 beats per minute (BPM), its emergence is explained as the dry residue that arises by mixing American hip-hop with British jungle and drum'n'bass, adding Jamaican dancehall, although, of course, each case is individual, as in Dizzee's case, influenced by metal and grunge.
In later interviews, when Dizzee had already become famous, he admitted that he used to steal cars and occasionally snatch a pizza from deliverymen, leaving customers hungry, but at the same time, he became interested in stage art and attended the Young Actors Theatre in Islington (Young Actors Theatre Islington). At the age of fourteen, he became a drum'n'bass DJ, rapping over the music, but by the age of sixteen, he had already produced his first single "I Luv U," released by the influential record company XL Recordings, whose proteges included megastars The Prodigy. The Wire magazine called his first single an analogue of grime, similar to what “Anarchy in the U.K.” is considered in punk - the greatest hit of the Sex Pistols.
With the release of his debut album "Boy In The Corner" (2003), Dizzee Rascal became known to almost everyone, appearing on the covers of British tabloids - then not for his musical achievements, but for his involvement in a conflict where he received six stab wounds. However, soon after, at just eighteen years old, he won the prestigious Mercury Prize for his debut album and the NME (New Musical Express) award for innovation. He was also hailed across the ocean, with the album being included in Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 albums of 2003.
In the following years, Dizzee reached number one on the UK singles chart five times - with songs from his fourth album "Tongue n' Cheek" (2009) such as "Dance wiv Me," "Bonkers," "Holiday," "Dirtee Disco," and the unofficial anthem of the England football team "Shout," which was made before the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The chorus is borrowed from the 1984 hit of the English synth-pop group Tears For Fears of the same name, once again proving that one of Dizzee Rascal's success tools is a diverse knowledge of popular music history.
Don't miss the chance to witness Dizzee Rascal live in the Baltics and dance your heart out to the beats of a true legend!
