Dizzee Rascal (1984– )

English garage and rap music performer, producer, songwriter, and MC. Angry and articulate, with a piercing voice, he is known for his raw talent and stark lyrics. He won the UK's 2003 Mercury Music Prize for his debut album Boy in Da Corner – the first rapper and, at age 19, the youngest person to win the prestigious award. He followed with the album Showtime in 2004.

He released his first single, ‘I Luv U’, at the age of 16 and followed with ‘Fix Up, Look Sharp’, sampled from Billy Squier's 1980 rock single ‘Big Beat’, and ‘Jus' a Rascal’. He has also collaborated with other UK acts such as More Fire Crew, Basement Jaxx, and The Streets, and with the popular US singer Ashanti.

He grew up on a council estate in Bow, east London, and was excluded from a number of schools before finding a music teacher who encouraged his interest in hip hop and garage music. He took his adopted surname ‘Rascal’ from his teachers' name for him. He was stabbed in the Cypriot dance club resort of Ayia Napa in 2003 but quickly recovered.