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.

After signing with independent label XL Recordings in 2002, the rapper released his self-produced debut album Boy in da Corner in 2003. which received widespread critical acclaim and earned him the Mercury Prize in 2003, eventually being certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.

Throughout his career, Dizzee Rascal has worked with a number of notable artists including Arctic Monkeys, Calvin Harris, Florence + The Machine, Robbie Williams, Shakira, Ty Dolla Sign, UGK and will.i.am.

His Nigerian father died when Dizzee was young,[5] and he was raised in Bow,[6] in a single-parent family, by his Ghanaian mother Priscilla, about whom he says, "I had issues as a kid.

[10] Cagey about exactly what Rascal's youthful "madnesses" entailed, in early interviews he mentioned fighting with teachers, stealing cars, and robbing pizza delivery men.

[13] 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.

[15] During his early career, Rascal worked with his mentor Wiley to create the still-unreleased song "We Ain't Having It" and rapped on some Sidewinder recordings.

Rascal had an ongoing feud, from late 2003, with fellow underground grime artist Crazy Titch, which began when a fight broke out between the pair during a set on a guest show on the pirate radio station Deja Vu FM.

The set, which features many seminal early grime artists, was filmed, and has accumulated over a million views on YouTube[16] and resulted in the two exchanging diss tracks.

Dizzee's first solo album, Boy in da Corner, was released to universal critical acclaim in August 2003, entering the UK Top 40 at #40.

[18][6][15] Many tabloids suggested that this event was connected to an apparent feud between Dizzee and garage act So Solid Crew, and his pinching Lisa Maffia's buttocks.

[9] After Dizzee was hospitalised, So Solid Crew member "Megaman" – real name Dwayne Vincent – was questioned about the incident, but was released by Cypriot police.

The song told the tale of a young London girl, who through years of going to parties, getting drunk, doing drugs and having sex earned herself the title Jezebel.

The "Dream" music video consisted of a mock 1950s style children's marionette show depicting scenes corresponding to the lyrics about Dizzee's youth: street culture, crime, single teenage mothers, pirate radio and garage clubs.

He stated in an interview before the album's release that "Maths" refers to producing, in terms of beats, deals and money[23] and "English" to writing lyrics.

[25] During the year, Dizzee worked with cross-genre artist Beck on a remix of the song "Hell Yes", and provided guest vocals on an Arctic Monkeys track, the B-Side to their single "Brianstorm" named "Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend".

Its release was announced on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, where Dizzee Rascal revealed some details about the album, including track information and production.

On 23 May 2008, Calvin Harris, whom he collaborated with on the number-one hit "Dance Wiv Me", revealed on his Twitter[citation needed] that he was producing a Dizzee track; at the Evolution Festival in Newcastle, and when on tour supporting The Prodigy, he confirmed that two new singles called "Road Rage" and "Dirtee Cash", both of which featured on the album, would be released.

In August 2010, it was revealed that he was to collaborate with Colombian popstar Shakira on the English version of "Loca", the lead single of her album Sale el Sol.

The 25-track mixtape was released as a free download, and included features from fellow rappers JME, Kano, Scrufizzer, Example, Rapid, Chronik, Hyper and Smurfie Syco.

[33] The EP also marked the first time Dizzee and Skepta worked on a track together, releasing Money Right which peaked at number 68 on the UK singles chart.

When starting to make music in his teenage years, Dizzee Rascal "learned to rap fast" over drum and bass tracks with 170-180 bpm, in contrast to the slower tempos of UK Garage.

[38] Andy Bennett and Jon Stratton highlight in the book Britpop and the English Music Tradition (2010) how Dizzee Rascal alongside Sway and M.I.A.

The chart success of grime-influenced artists like him is heralded as a signal in the way that white Britons are adapting to a new multicultural and plural musical mix in contrast to previous bands.

"[41] The single "Dance Wiv Me", featuring Calvin Harris and Chrome, was released through the label on 7 July 2008; the track became Jo Whiley's Pet Sound for the Week beginning 2 June 2008, thus gaining a large amount of radio airtime.

[43] During the 2008 US presidential elections, Dizzee gave a live interview to Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman, in which he described Barack Obama as "an immediate symbol of unity".

Addressed by Paxman as "Mr Rascal" at one point, he said he felt that hip-hop played an important part in encouraging young voters and humorously suggested that he could well one day become prime minister.

[44] In March 2005, Dizzee Rascal was arrested for allegedly carrying a section five firearm after a search during a car stop in east London; he was found to be in possession of pepper spray.

[46] Later that year in December he was arrested and held on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon after allegedly approaching a motorist with a baseball bat in a road rage incident at Sevenoaks Way, Orpington.

[51][52] On 7 March 2022, Dizzee Rascal was convicted of assaulting his former partner Cassandra Jones, with whom he has a daughter and a son, at a property in Streatham on 8 June 2021, after a 'chaotic argument'.