Dizzee began MCing on pirate radio and at raves at fifteen, but since his mainstream success he has distanced himself from the fledgling scene. Rascal grew up in the East End of London in south Bow in a council estate, raised by his single mother, a Ghanaian immigrant. Little is known about his father, though it is thought that he died when Mills was two. He attributes his musical development to a school teacher who allowed him to skip regular classes and spend time working on music on the school computers.
His music is an eclectic mixture of garage and hip-hop beats with an extremely broad palette of influences, ranging from metal guitars to found sounds, drill and bass synth lines, eclectic samples and even Japanese court music. His vocal performance is also distinctive, he uses a fast version of rapping (known as 'spitting') which blends elements from garage MCing, conventional rap, grime and ragga.
Dizzee Rascal has numerous rivals within the Grime scene, mainly from the Bow, East London area. A notable rival of Dizzee Rascal is Crazy Titch who produced and recorded a diss called "Just An Arsehole" which used the backing track of Dizzee's record of "Jus A Rascal".
Dizzee Rascal has had international endorsements deals with urban brand Ecko and designed his own shoe with Nike. He has also worked with cross genre artist, Beck, on a remix of the song Hell Yes.
He released his debut album in 2003, which was called Boy In Da Corner, winning him the 2003 Mercury Prize. His second album Showtime was released in 2004. His third effort, Maths and English was released in 2007. All three albums received critical acclaim. He experienced commercial success in 2008 when Dance Wiv Me reached the number one spot in the UK charts. His fourth album, Tongue n' Cheek was released in 2009, going platinum for sales exceeding 300,000 units in the UK. Dizzee Rascal's album The Fifth was released in 2013, the same year he received an honorary Doctorate of the Arts from the University of East London.
In 2017, Rascal released Raskit, which as well as building on his sound heralded a return on some songs to the grime sound of his earlier albums.
Discography:
Studio albums:
2003: Boy in da Corner
2004: Showtime
2007: Maths + English
2009: Tongue n' Cheek
2013: The Fifth
2017: Raskit
2020: E3 AF
2024: Don't Take It Personal
Face
Dizzee Rascal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let's talk about over-excited brehs on the road,
Who brake all street honourary codes,
Can't get a real name for themselves,
Living off reflected glory,
Living off face
Said he knows slimzee ,maxwell, gods gift, said he knows plake, said he knows ace.
Said he knows neeko breder hypes, said he had lunch at lethals place
Backstage with the nasty crew
I ask them to get out of my face,
He looks at my face,
I look for a way to move him clear from out of my face
But I leave him there
Hope to the face receiving air
Get a (light) late night phone call,
Pissed 'cause' it's one past business hours
And the clocked this number don't look local
This is why I don't answer the phone
Twenty missed calls in total,
Plus 8 voicemails and about 14 text messages
People can't take hints and messages,
And the message is leave me alone
People got a problem,
(act like) I can make (dubplates) for them,
So they can look (good and tell tales)
Its all jiggy and we look like pals
So I can be the next big star in their phonebook
You look like the real top bois when the
Gyals look big bow capital front, ?
Disgrace and listen to the face
Mayhem drama jealousy envy hate
(karma) face
Let's talk about face,
Let's talk about money
Mayhem drama jealousy envy hate
(karma) face
Let's talk about face,
So many faithful stars I've got to deal with
Smiling just for the sake of god knows what
They think or wonder what prognosis they link to my global interest
I guess
Any place where they're not,
Can I get a little space or what?
All complaints aside because I appreciate my love
I know you feel the vibe,
I understand what it takes to swallow your pride
And give a boy ratings and (props)
But I believe that's where it stops,
Maybe a hug or a cuddle (at tops)
But please don't congregate all around me
(grind) intoxicate and surround me
Just for the face
Mayhem drama jealousy envy hate
(karma) face
Let's talk about face,
Let's talk about money
Mayhem drama jealousy envy hate
(karma) face
Let's talk about face,
?
On the go like no other
Looks like wifey material but she's a ho undercover
She ain't the type of girl you should take home to your mother
You (twanged her) banged her now you're almost certain that you love her
she's known for that that disease moves through nearly all the mcs
High for the hype, in it for the face) blatently off your cheese,
(lil kim mentality, face similar) to alicia keys
She says she wants to breathe
You're telling her hey you're begging her please
In the song Face, Dizzee Rascal talks about people who live off reflected glory and face, instead of earning a name for themselves properly. He describes how these people claim to know famous people and use their names to elevate their own status. In addition, they constantly call, text and even harass him for favors, like dubplates or befriending him for their social status. Dizzee complains about being surrounded by people who want to be close to him just for his face, without genuinely caring about him as a person. The song also talks about the downsides of fame, where the rapper feels suffocated by people constantly surrounding him, disrespecting his privacy, and not understanding what it takes to achieve true success.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's talk about over-excited brehs on the road,
Dizzee Rascal wants to discuss over-excited people who break street codes.
Who brake all street honorary codes,
These people break all the street codes.
Can't get a real name for themselves,
They can't make a name for themselves.
Living off reflected glory,
They're living off the glory of others.
Living off face
They're fake and only got 'face' to show for.
Said he knows Slimzee, Maxwell, God's gift, said he knows Plake, said he knows Ace,
These people claim to know prominent names in the industry.
Claims he's tight wiv Mega man, cool with Romeo cousin of Kaish,
They also claim to have close relationships with specific individuals.
Said he knows Neeko breder Hypes, said he had lunch at Lethal's place,
They have a list of people they claim to know or associate with.
Backstage with the nasty crew I ask them to get out of my face,
They show up and Dizzee Rascal tells them to leave.
He looks at my face,
Dizzee Rascal is looking at someone's face who is attempting to talk to him.
I look for a way to move him clear from out of my face,
Dizzee Rascal wants to find a way to get the person out of his face.
But I leave him there,
In the end, Dizzee Rascal doesn't do anything and leaves the person there.
Hope to the face receiving air,
Dizzee Rascal hopes the person leaves.
Get a (light) late night phone call,
Dizzee Rascal receives a phone call late at night.
Pissed 'cause' it's one past business hours,
Dizzee Rascal is frustrated because it's past appropriate business hours.
And the clocked this number don't look local,
He doesn't recognize the number and assumes it's not local.
This is why I don't answer the phone,
Dizzee Rascal doesn't answer the call.
Twenty missed calls in total,
He receives a total of 20 missed calls.
Plus 8 voicemails and about 14 text messages,
In addition, he gets 8 voicemails and 14 text messages.
People can't take hints and messages,
These people don't take the subtle messages and continue to call and text.
And the message is leave me alone,
The message they should understand is that Dizzee Rascal wants to be left alone.
People got a problem,
Some people have a problem.
(act like) I can make (dubplates) for them,
They assume Dizzee Rascal can make dubplates for them.
So they can look (good and tell tales),
This will make them look good and help them to tell stories.
Its all jiggy and we look like pals,
This all seems very friendly.
So I can be the next big star in their phonebook,
They're just trying to add Dizzee Rascal's name to their phonebook and make him their next big star.
You look like the real top bois when the,
They appear to be cool and in with the top boys.
Gyals look big bow capital front, ?
Especially when the girls look good.
Disgrace and listen to the face,
These people are fake and Dizzee Rascal knows not to listen to them.
Mayhem drama jealousy envy hate,
There's a lot of negativity in the community.
(karma) face
This negativity leads to a lot of bad karma.
Let's talk about face,
Dizzee Rascal wants to discuss fake personalities.
Let's talk about money,
And the impact it has on their personalities.
So many faithful stars I've got to deal with,
Dizzee Rascal has to deal with a lot of fake people.
Smiling just for the sake of god knows what,
They smile for no real reason.
They think or wonder what prognosis they link to my global interest,
These people wonder what they can gain from Dizzee Rascal's global reach.
I guess
Dizzee Rascal doesn't really know.
Any place where they're not,
He wishes they weren't around him.
Can I get a little space or what?
Dizzee Rascal just wants some space.
All complaints aside because I appreciate my love,
Despite it all, Dizzee Rascal appreciates his fans.
I know you feel the vibe,
He knows they're vibing with him.
I understand what it takes to swallow your pride,
He understands that sometimes it's important to swallow your pride.
And give a boy ratings and (props),
And show love and support.
But I believe that's where it stops,
However, that's where he draws the line.
Maybe a hug or a cuddle (at tops),
At most, he's okay with a hug or cuddle.
But please don't congregate all around me,
But he doesn't want people constantly around him.
(grind) intoxicate and surround me
This can be overwhelming.
Just for the face,
Just because they want to be seen with him and for fake clout.
On the go like no other,
Dizzee Rascal is always on the go.
Looks like wifey material but she's a ho undercover,
He meets a girl who seems nice, but is really promiscuous on the low.
She ain't the type of girl you should take home to your mother,
This girl isn't one you should be bringing home to meet family.
You (twanged her) banged her now you're almost certain that you love her,
Despite this, Dizzee Rascal hooked up with her and is almost convinced he loves her.
She's known for that disease moves through nearly all the MCs,
This girl is known to sleep around with many MCs.
High for the hype, in it for the face), blatently off your cheese,
This girl is only doing it for the clout and money.
(Lil Kim mentality, face similar) to Alicia Keys,
She has a Lil Kim mentality and looks like Alicia Keys.
She says, she wants to breathe,
Despite all this, the girl claims she wants to change her ways.
You're telling her, hey you're begging her please,
Dizzee Rascal urges her to do so, but with hesitation.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: A J MILLS, CLIFF RYLAND, BENNETT SCOTT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind