Dizzee Rascal: Wrath Of The Math

Whatever insecurities Dizzee Rascal is dealing with he has managed to discard them with a  f**k em’ banner. When speaking to Dizzee you get no sense of him having any diffident qualities. Perhaps it is the ghettos of Britain that preserved and groomed his confidence and morphed into his music. Whatever the case, Dizzee has […]

Whatever insecurities Dizzee Rascal is dealing with he has managed to discard them with a  f**k em’ banner. When speaking to Dizzee you get no sense of him having any diffident qualities. Perhaps it is the ghettos of Britain that preserved and groomed his confidence and morphed into his music. Whatever the case, Dizzee has characterized his style of music as being “Ravey Hip-Hop”. He goes on to say that “It’s very banging and can be hectic at times but I’m always saying something.” Always saying something indeed. Saying things like how he “is Hip-Hop at its fullest” and that award shows are no more than “glitz and glamour”.    Since the UK release of his most popular album to date Math + English, Dizzee has faced the usual woes of success; judgment from the closed minded individuals who want you to keep doing the things you were doing before you had a plan. There also are the opinions from the Hip-Hop snobs who aren’t ready to accept the mix of Hip-Hop with the animated hectic sound of new-age rap. Despite the typical blockades the haters have thrown at him, this underdog can fill up a concert. The criticism might lead one to ask: Is he Hip-Hop at it’s fullest? AllHipHop.com: There are not many young Black rappers from the UK that are crossing over into America’s mainstream. Do you feel any pressure to be a representative of the life you came from?Dizzee Rascal: No pressure. That’s what I got from American Hip-Hop. It was a sense of where they were coming from. It was almost like they were drawing a picture. That’s why I got involved as well.AllHipHop.com: You will be touring soon. Do you have a different game plan for the tour in America versus the UK who is already familiar with you?Dizzee Rascal: Yeah that’s starts in May and it is going to be with El- P. I’m going to work hard like I always do and make sure it’s hot like always.AllHipHop.com:  Your album Math and English has an April 29th release for the U.S. Are you nervous at all about the reaction of the U.S. audience?Dizzee Rascal: Not really nervous. America is another place for me. It just means so much because American Hip-Hop has had such an influence over me. I want the world.AllHipHop.com: You do not have the typical gangster rap sound.  Where do you think you fit in when it comes to American Hip-Hop?Dizzee Rascal: I got some street action. I’m Hip-Hop at its fullest. It is about surviving and pushing forward as always. AllHipHop.com: It seems as though the British Awards do not have much respect for Hip-Hop. Many of them do not even have a category for Hip-Hop.Dizzee Rascal: Some of them do. Say for instance the Brit Awards didn’t.  I don’t really think it matters man. If you take away all of the glitz and glamour it really just is a few people. F**k em’. AllHipHop.com: Do you think that it might hinder Hip-Hop as far as crossing over and having respect in Britain?Dizzee Rascal: When I was growing up there weren’t many categories on awards for Hip-Hop and people still went platinum. It plays a part. But in comparison, 50 Cent and Kanye West sold ridiculous amounts of albums last year in Britain. It’s not reflecting what’s really happening.AllHipHop.com: On the newest version of your album, you are supposed to have two new tracks. What can we expect from these two new tracks? Did you do something particularly different on them?Dizzee Rascal: They did not get finished in time for the first release. They are a reflection from when I was a kid just driving around being up to no good. AllHipHop.com: For those who have never heard your style of rap music, how would you describe it for them?Dizzee Rascal: Edgy, very energetic. I have the influences of Three 6 Mafia and Timbaland as far as their beats. I haven’t worked with them yet. I did work with Bun B from UGK. AllHipHop.com: What was the experience like working with Bun B?Dizzee Rascal: He is one the people who made an impact on Hip-Hop. For them to be embracing me like that it just means that I am taking that next step. Especially being from where I’m from. Its not like I paid them a lot of money to feature, it was genuine. [Dizzee Rascal f/ Bun B “Where Da G’s”]AllHipHop.com: Are there any other American rappers you would like to work with?Dizzee Rascal: Loads. Peedi Crack…AllHipHop.com: Peedi Crack, that’s interesting. Some would argue that he is not one of the most popular rappers here in the U.S. Why would you choose him? Dizzee Rascal: I heard him on the mixtapes a while ago and his flow is untouchable. His swagger and the track would be off the hinges.AllHipHop.com: You focus more so on the talent you think an individual has rather than his popularity.Dizzee Rascal: Definitely. I respect popularity. That is what it takes to maintain a mainstream audience. But I know that there are some ill rappers out here. Akon, GhostFace Killah, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, the list goes on.AllHipHop.com: Are you still part owner of the record label Dirty Stank? Dizzee Rascal: Exactly. I’m working with some new artists I’m going to put out. Newham Generals. They are getting radio play and will have an album out in April.AllHipHop.com: You receive a lot of acclaim as far as word of mouth about how dope you are but the album sales do not match the praise you receive. How do you deal with that?Dizzee Rascal: That’s just how it is today. I was in Australia doing a tour about three weeks ago. I only sold about 7500 records there. But the concert had about 25,000 people in a tent. That is like 16 times what I have sold. So you have to look at it like all these people did not buy the album but they like me and they will still come to see me. AllHipHop.com: Are you ready for the big cross over when everybody does see how dope you are and the record sales go up and then you are being labeled as a sell out or commercial? Dizzee Rascal: That’s already happen in England.AllHipHop.com: What are your thoughts about that?Dizzee Rascal: They can suck my d**k. AllHipHop.com: Why do you think people feel that way?Dizzee Rascal: Because it is easy to say he sold out… Blah, blah. But who really wants to make s**t harder for themselves? It’s easy to say that when you can’t understand the formula that took him to the next level. AllHiphop.com: Do you think that there is something in particular that they are feeding from to make them believe that you have sold out?Dizzee Rascal: The fact that they are feeding off is that I’m f**king gone. They can’t see me any more. I’m not stuck doing the same thing I was doing five years ago.AllHipHop.com: Stuck in the hood.Dizzee Rascal: Yeah, I will still go there but I’m not missing too much. It is bullocks. I sold records and that’s what I’m supposed to do. AllHipHop.com: Of all the things you could be doing with your life. Why Hip-Hop?Dizzee Rascal: I used to like Rock but it did not speak to me like Hip-Hop could. Hip-Hop is spoken word. You can say so much. Sometimes people listen to music and it could touch them in ways and they might not even get the lyrics. I like having that affect. I’m going to be here for a long time so you might as well get with it.