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Since we last spoke to Roll Deep back in May the crew have been going from strength to strength, with both their bookings and reputation going through the roof. Part of the reason for this is the hype around MC Dizzie Rascal's solo smash 'I Love You', one of the most wanted tunes on the street. We caught up with him on his home turf to find out why he's not letting the dizzy heights of success go to his head...It's a sunny Friday afternoon in East London. In the distance the Docklands skyline shimmers in the summer haze, whilst cars and commuters bustle to get out of the city heat for the weekend. But right now on Dizzie's estate, life is moving at a slower pace. The 17 year-old MC is at his regular spot, sitting on the wall taking it easy and watching life go by. However, things are not quite the way they seem on the surface for Dizzie. What you can't see here is the bidding war going on over his first single, the recognition and respect he has earned on the street over just a few months and the speed at which him, Roll Deep and a handful of others are twisting garage up into their own more rugged and raw interpretation of the sound. ‘It’s like the same thing as hip hop now’ he tells me, ‘we’re just slightly behind them. Don’t mean we can’t be bigger or on the same level though; we’re catchin’ up. PAUG, HLC, So Solid, they run garage now in my eyes, I’ve got respect for EZ but all them others I don’t really care about. It’s a different scene. I respect them for what they do innit, but it’s a different scene. As long as people keep coming with different chats it will grow and there will be more opportunities for people from the street.’ The street is firmly where Dizzie’s roots lie, in the short time I’m speaking to him, the Nasty crew, Wiley and other members of Roll Deep all pass through, not to mention legions of fans. ‘When you on radio?’ one kid yells walking past, ‘tomorrow’ says Dizzie. ‘What station?’ ‘Deja! 8-10!’ He yells back. ‘The street is my inspiration innit. Everything that’s going on. It’s quiet today; usually it’s a bit more wild. It’s safer like this though...There has been bare change round here, it’s about adapting. Like the cameras (he points to a hidden cctv camera) sly little cameras everywhere, more police, drugs, crime...everything is changing. It’s f*cked sometimes, people change and they ain't gonna be the same, sometimes it’s sad but sometimes it’s for the better and I’m happy for them. Have I changed? I hope so boy. I don’t like to think about what I’d do if I wasn’t MCing. We coulda all gone the other way. But if you’re smart and you do things properly it opens your mind, you see into things more and you think first.’ Dizzie is clearly wiser than his years, but his first single is a light hearted take on the age-old boy vs. girl situation we all know so well...’I bashed it out quick’ he tells me, ‘but it was different so people liked it and started playing it. It still hasn’t sunk in how big it’s got, cos I still sit here! What makes us do music? If we don’t we’ll be broke for the rest of our lives innit? Won’t have nothing, college is a long ting, education is good and everything but for some of us it don’t mean nothing cos you can’t get a job after anyway. I was one of the lucky ones, MCing is my living now but it’s not like that for everyone. If I can though anyone can. It’s one of them things, like being a footballer, you gotta be lucky. Everything is about timing...’ |
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