Dizzee Rascal

At a glance

Born 1984-09-18.

Known as: rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and musician. Citizenship: United Kingdom.

Listed as: human.

Who they were

Dylan Kwabena Mills, known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by Complex as one of the greatest British rappers of all time. His work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline and R&B. Dizzee Rascal's music is also often credited with bringing UK rap into the mainstream and became the country's first rapper to achieve international recognition.

Early life

Educated at: Langdon Park Secondary School and St Paul's Way Trust School.

Early life Dylan Kwabena Mills was born on 18 September 1984 in Forest Gate , London. His Nigerian father died when he was two years old, and the circumstances of his father’s death are still unknown to him: "There’s obviously something that’s gone on that’s been kept from me, but it’s something my mum doesn’t like going into". [ 1 ] He was raised on a council estate in Bow , [ 2 ] in a single-parent family, by his Ghanaian mother Priscilla, about whom he says, "I had issues as a kid.

Path and career

Awards / honours: Mercury Prize and Member of the Order of the British Empire.

Career 2000–2003: Early career Around the age of 14, Dizzee Rascal became an amateur drum and bass DJ, also rapping over tracks as customary in sound system culture, and making occasional appearances on local pirate radio stations. [ 1 ] Aged sixteen, he self-produced his first single, " I Luv U ". [ 2 ] In 2002, he jointly formed the Roll Deep Crew , a 13-piece garage collective, with former school friends. He also signed a solo deal with the record label XL . [ 3 ]

Why this date

Dizzee Rascal appears on our September 18 calendar for 1984 as a birth entry.