Dizzee Rascal

Dizzee Rascal是頭黑色的公牛，不信的就請看他去年的處子專輯《Boy in Da Corner》(角落里的男孩兒)的封面。周身黑衣的Dizzee Rascal坐在角落，雙手舉過頭頂，伸出食指，比作犄角，氣勢洶洶的目光看著鏡頭。這個畫面必定成為英國音樂歷史上又一個經典的瞬間，黑色肌膚的Dizzee Rascal，英倫黑人文化的新偶像。因為這公牛既不是來自芝加哥的籃球飛人，又不是東西兩岸的麥克風英雄，他是英國本土的嘻哈明星，他的名字叫做Dizzee Rascal，以及此時此刻，發行《Boy in Da Corner》的時候，這個黑人小伙兒年僅十八歲。 近兩三年，英國的Hip-Hop音樂發展的欣欣向榮，當然對于英國的嘻哈音樂，由于其音樂本身的特性，人們普遍稱之為“2-Step/British Garage”。原因是英倫的嘻哈音樂更加偏重音樂，也就是有很重的舞曲味兒，其中2-Step所指的音樂包括了大量的黑人音樂唱腔，比如R&B、Funk Soul曲風等等；而British Garage則是俱樂部景線的產物，包括后期融合了Hip-Hip節奏的音樂。所以，兩者特點相融合，這就是它最大的特點。近兩年來比較突出的藝人比如白人2-Step/British Garage藝人Mike Skinner，他化名The Streets，玩兒的嘻哈起勁兒，而且他那蹩腳的說唱口音竟成了招牌，2001年的處子專輯《Original Pirate Material》(原始盜版素材)叫好又賣座。借著英倫嘻哈陣風，Dizzee Rascal在去年年底發表了處子大作，The Streets也于今年發表了第二張錄音室作品《A Grand Don't Come for Free》(大家伙都不是免費的)。在The Streets看來，Dizzee Rascal無比幸運。他不僅受到上至前衛音樂雜志《Wire》的特殊照顧，下到英倫各大媒體輪流炒作，以至最終捧得2003年度“水星音樂”大獎，這位趕在年底發片的黑下子真可謂是去年最幸運的人。 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.