Dizzee Rascal, that "Boy in da Corner" turned 23-year-old grime superstar, is on a U.S. tour stopping at Emo's tonight in support of his third album, Maths + English, released stateside June 5. Dizzee, nearly as well-known in the States as in his native London, has traded in the darker themes of project life for an album full of club-worthy bangers just in time for the summer.
Daily Texan: You hit #1 in England with "Dance Wiv Me." Did you expect this song to become as popular as it is right now?
Dizzee Rascal: It's mad. I was hoping it'd go top 10 but it's been No. 1 for the past two weeks, and it looks like it's about to go for a third. I guess with so much negativity in the news or whatever, people want something like this. I love to make people dance. First it's for the ladies, and it's also for the guys to get with the ladies.
DT: You've said before that you love the South. Why do you feel a connection here?
DR: It's always been a place I get along well. I really love the attitude there, especially the Southern hospitality. I'm also such a massive fan of Southern hip-hop, like Three 6 Mafia, Young Jeezy, Dem Franchize Boys. That's the hip-hop that's really getting me excited right now.
DT: That's interesting to hear, given that some American artists feel the sort of hip-hop getting a lot of airplay today is inauthentic, something record execs like because they know they can sell it.
DR: I think that comes from people taking themselves a little too seriously. I mean, it embodies everything hip-hop has always been about, since back when those New York cats in the early days were doing songs about going to parties, dancing, drinking, having fun.