Dizzee Rascal has been made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to music.
Born in London on 18 September 1984, Dizzee is known as a pioneer of grime who paved the way for future stars including Stormzy and Dave.
The rapper and producer, real name Dylan Mills, excelled in music studies as a teenager, when he began producing music on his computer while DJ-ing drum and bass at parties and on pirate radio.
He joined the Roll Deep Crew in 2002, which included other rising stars including Skepta, Jme, Tinchy Stryder and Wiley.
Following the success of his debut solo album, 2003’s Mercury Prize-winning Boy in Da Corner, Dizzee decided to pursue his solo career.
Boy in Da Corner, which included the singles “Fix Up, Look Sharp” and “Jus’ a Rascal”, led to Dizzee’s becoming the UK’s first international rap superstar. The album reached No 23 on the UK albums chart and received unanimous acclaim from critics.
Since its release, Dizzee has gone on to release a further six studio albums and achieve five UK No 1 singles.
“I put grime on the main stage,” he said in a recent interview with Complex. “I put all this s***, all the hip-hop, on the main stage at all these festivals when they didn’t have the confidence in it. I made them confident.”
He also created his own label, Dirtee Stank, to help bridge the gap between “indie, majors and the street”.
Dizzee worked with the Kitchen Social project in May this year, helping to distribute meals and food parcels at a primary school in Poplar, east London, close to where he grew up.
Dizzee’s seventh album, E3 AF, is scheduled for release on 30 October.
Additional reporting by Press Association
