Dizzee Rascal

Dizzee Rascal是头黑色的公牛，不信的就请看他去年的处子专辑《Boy in Da Corner》(角落里的男孩儿)的封面。周身黑衣的Dizzee Rascal坐在角落，双手举过头顶，伸出食指，比作犄角，气势汹汹的目光看着镜头。这个画面必定成为英国音乐历史上又一个经典的瞬间，黑色肌肤的Dizzee Rascal，英伦黑人文化的新偶像。因为这公牛既不是来自芝加哥的篮球飞人，又不是东西两岸的麦克风英雄，他是英国本土的嘻哈明星，他的名字叫做Dizzee Rascal，以及此时此刻，发行《Boy in Da Corner》的时候，这个黑人小伙儿年仅十八岁。
近两三年，英国的Hip-Hop音乐发展的欣欣向荣，当然对于英国的嘻哈音乐，由于其音乐本身的特性，人们普遍称之为“2-Step/British Garage”。原因是英伦的嘻哈音乐更加偏重音乐，也就是有很重的舞曲味儿，其中2-Step所指的音乐包括了大量的黑人音乐唱腔，比如R&B、Funk Soul曲风等等；而British Garage则是俱乐部景线的产物，包括后期融合了Hip-Hip节奏的音乐。所以，两者特点相融合，这就是它最大的特点。近两年来比较突出的艺人比如白人2-Step/British Garage艺人Mike Skinner，他化名The Streets，玩儿的嘻哈起劲儿，而且他那蹩脚的说唱口音竟成了招牌，2001年的处子专辑《Original Pirate Material》(原始盗版素材)叫好又卖座。借着英伦嘻哈阵风，Dizzee Rascal在去年年底发表了处子大作，The Streets也于今年发表了第二张录音室作品《A Grand Don't Come for Free》(大家伙都不是免费的)。在The Streets看来，Dizzee Rascal无比幸运。他不仅受到上至前卫音乐杂志《Wire》的特殊照顾，下到英伦各大媒体轮流炒作，以至最终捧得2003年度“水星音乐”大奖，这位赶在年底发片的黑下子真可谓是去年最幸运的人。
Dizzee Rascal was one of the U.K.s most prominent music subjects during the latter half of 2003. Just a few months prior to winning his countrys Mercury Prize — for Boy in da Corner, his debut album — his name was known only by his peers and devout followers of the garage scene. Though the innovative MC/producer was only 18 at the time of the albums release, there was plenty to talk about beyond his music.
Born Dylan Mills, Dizzee Rascal grew up in a council estate in East London and was raised as a single child by his mother. He didnt fare well in schools; he was booted from several of them, often for altercations with teachers. While not in school, he got himself into further trouble by robbing pizza deliverers and stealing cars. One particular music class, however, proved to be a safe haven and helped push him in an alternate direction. With support from his instructor, he began making his own productions on a classroom computer. Noisy, off-kilter tracks were made to back his own MCing, since he found that the average garage track was not suited for his style of delivery. Taking cues from a host of admired U.S. MCs, Mills began to develop his songwriting skills, which began to take on an increasingly introspective quality. He was no stranger to making boastful pronouncements, but he drew from his own life and various mind states in a way that few other MCs — regardless of background and nationality — had done before.
When Mills recorded the underground white-label single I Luv U, he had just started to make a name for himself in the U.K. garage scene, as a member of Roll Deep Crew. He, his fellow crew members, and a cast of other groups and MCs were building on a more aggressive and abrasive offshoot of relatively slick, R&B-oriented garage that would begin to be referred to as grime. I Luv U became one of grimes key singles and paved the way for Mills first full-length album, which was routinely praised by critics upon initial release in July of 2003. In what might have initially seemed like a press stunt to cynics, Mills was stabbed several times while visiting Ayia Napa, a resort in Cyprus, just before its street date. He made a safe recovery, picked up the 2003 Mercury Prize a couple months later, guested on Basement Jaxxs Kish Kash, and saw his album receive a U.S. release in January of 2004. He became more of an underground sensation stateside; Anglophiles with equal love for dance music and hip-hop tended to embrace him, while others found themselves baffled by all of the hype. In September of 2004, Dizzee released Showtime worldwide, followed by Maths and English in 2007. Between the release of the two albums, Dizzee set up a fledgling label for younger talent called Dirtee Stank.