Dizzee Rascal - Debates

Dizzee Rascal and Wiley were among the first to bring the genre to the attention of the mainstream media in 2003-4, with their albums Boy in da Corner and Treddin' on Thin Ice respectively. Dizzee Rascal garnered broad critical acclaim and commercial success with Boy in da Corner winning the 2003 Mercury Music Prize.

Controversial lyrics? "Dizzee who? Ras, Anarchic-arse, killer mc force...just about hurt me you shoulda marked me up on a rampage now I'm back 5 stab wounds couple scratchin bruisin and some chains" - "Knock Knock". "UK rapper stabbed in napa. Cause of gossip cause of chatter. He's still breathin he's still a dapper. Retaliate with gun clapper". - "Respect me". "I'm the type of boy that takes the bump with the grind (ok) And I'm the type of boy to take your girl from behind (ok)". - "Vexed". "All i care about is sex and violence" - "Bonkers". Dizzee Rascal has very controversial lyrics seen above, about 'sex, violence, crime, slang and swearing'.

Glamourising violence or social commentary? "They would love to cut my face but they just cock their eyes at me. Like little ladies would you wish you could express yourself. But violent silences from ya, stops ya so keep your feelings stealth - "Flyin". Dizzee is glamourising violence he sings/raps about it in nearly all of his songs, it is not in a postive way saying we should stop violence, violence is bad, he is suggesting using violence is good and that it is ok to use it. "All I care about is sex and violence". This is mainly glamourising violence I think as he has experienced violence in his own life and he is bragging about how he has dealt with it. How he would hurt his enemies. On the other hand Dizzee could be using these threatening violent lyrics to fit in with society, as many of the younger audience believe knife crime, gun crime and violence is 'cool'. When Dizzee raps about it he knows that his target audience will listen and be amused.

Race issues? The genre of music Dizzee rapped was not at first accepted alot in society as they were not use to it. Jungle, Dubstep, Drum and Bass and Grime music were invented in London and involve a number of artists from primarily Caribbean communities but recently Black Africans also, most notably Ghanaian and Nigerian. Famous grime artists include Dizzee Rascal, Tinchy Stryder, Tinie Tempah, Chipmunk, Kano (rapper), Wiley and Lethal Bizzle. It is now common to hear British MCs rapping in a strong London Accent. "Passengers 'disgusted' as rapper Dizzee Rascal is thrown off flight".
A minority of cultures will not listen to Dizzee Rascals raps because of his type of niche music grime.