As the sun sets on day one of Radio 1′s Big Weekend in Swindon the country is bouncing to the sound of Bonkers. Dizzee Rascal is definitely talk of the town and to be honest we have been talking too! Tom and I managed to catch Dizzee Rascal when he was supporting Prodigy on their UK tour. The outcome was epic. Not only did we have an amazing night we also witnessed that Dizzee Rascal is here and he is here to stay.
Both Tom and I have followed Dizzee from back in the Mercury Music Prize days in 2003 (He was only 19 by the way). The Journey since then is the stuff of legends. I think back and “Lucky Star” was the sound of that Summer for me as Dizzee joined forces with heavy hitters Basement Jaxx. From 2003 to 2009 I think people underestimate how busy Dizzee and his team have actually been! Working with Ecko and Nike, doing his bit with “do they know its Christmas”, collaborating with the Arctic Monkeys on Temptation, a remix with Beck, dropping tracks like Dream (2004), Flex (2007), collaborating with Calvin Harris in 2008 on “Dance Wiv Me”, to the current day working with Armand Van Helden on BONKERS!
For me Dizzee Rascal has been a permanent feature on the Ipod and CD changer however over the last six months he has reached new heights! He is a house hold name and that name has been plastered all over the UK’s summer festival season. If the Prodigy tour is anything to go by Dizzee Rascal has a seriously messy summer install. With such an armoury of massive tracks, style, flair, and a persona that is second to none in the UK scene, the UK festival ticket holder is in for a real treat!
As I write this Bonkers has just dropped Live on BBC Three from Radio 1′s Big Weekend… Semtex on the 1′s and 2′s! Tom and I will be catching up with Dizzee Rascal at Evolution Weekender in Newcastle on the 24th and 25th May.
