Bartenders take note: Dizzee Rascal would like his champagne served in the traditional fashion when he returns to Australia to play Groovin’ The Moo and a run of solo shows this month.
The East London rapper's latest album, entitled ‘The Fifth’, came out in September, and introduced the 28-year-old to a range of new experiences. “This was the first one I actually did in America; jumping from studio to studio, working with different big producers and other pop artists,” he says.
“Going to the clubs out there and seeing the music in its environment can be an absurdity; the crazy, over-the-topness within the music industry. I've seen things like that in London, don't get me wrong, but when there's a line of 15 girls with 15 bottles of champagne with sparklers in them that cost a few grand each, or a girl in a rubber dinghy delivering champagne to a table full of fucking drug dealers and rap superstars in the middle of a club while they play the ‘Superman’ music, it's a bit much, you know?
“I'm just kind of starting to understand [America] a little bit, so I was linking up with people there, and it just felt nice to record out there and be out of the way. And then obviously – in LA especially – there is a lot of big music being made there; it's one of the key music places, as well as Atlanta and a few other spots. But LA is the serious one; when you're there you can bump into anyone. I walked into the studio one day and Chris Brown was there talking to Spike Lee. There's random shit like that, know what I mean?”
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A seasoned touring artist and grime pioneer, Rascal is confident of putting on a good show. “There's lots of energy in our show, and we'll be bringing it all to Australia,” he says. “There'll be material from all my albums, from the first up to ‘The Fifth’. At the smaller shows I'll be playing more of the stuff that I won't be able to fit into the festival set. I wouldn't call it abstract stuff, but it's stuff that's geared more towards the diehard fans, as well as the big or the more commercial stuff.
“For the festivals, it's all the big stuff; things that will work in a festival environment. Big sing-alongs and things that will make people jump up and down, basically. A lot of [the new material] was debuted in Australia as well, and it's going to be nice to come back there after the album has actually been out and people have got to absorb it, so I'm looking forward to it.”
Collaborations have always been a major feature of any Dizzee Rascal album, with his latest featuring a range of guest vocalists and producers. “Someone like Will.i.am; I've bumped into him for years but we never managed to get anything recorded,” he says. “Or we recorded some shit and never finished it. This time I was working with Jean-Baptiste, and he and Will.i.am have done a lot of work together, and that's how the Will.i.am thing came about this time.
“Robbie Williams was another one I've bumped into a few times and we got on and everything, and I was looking for someone to record [‘Goin’ Crazy’] with. We rang him up and he agreed to do it as long as I came out there and recorded with him, which is rare as these days as most of the time I'm never in the same room with people. It was nice to actually sit down with him as he recorded his vocals. I've got number one songs I've done with Calvin Harris and we were never in the studio together; it's crazy.”
While his earlier career was peppered with controversy, mainly surrounding an alleged feud with fellow grime MC Crazy Titch, he insists the future is all that matters. “I'm just trying to make good decisions and stay out of trouble,” he says.
“The biggest thing for me is just trying to not do too much dumb shit; that's what ruins a lot of artists in this day and age especially. Information gets out there so quickly and people can change their minds about you so quickly. Sometimes it works in your favour, because a lot of people seem to like the whole fucking reality TV idiot thing, but people can get really tired of you quickly as well. The best thing to do is to stay out of the way and let the music do the talking. The most you're going to get out of me is my Instagram; sometimes I'll put some crazy shit on there just to have a laugh and show a bit of my personality.”
Dizzee Rascal Tour Dates
Headline:Thu 24 Apr - Eatons Hill Hotel (Bris)
Wed 7 May - Enmore Theatre (Syd)
Thu 8 May - Palace Theatre (Melb)
Groovin' The Moo
Fri 25 Apr - Oatbank (SA)
Sat 26 Apr - Maitland (NSW)
Sun 27 Apr - Canberra (ACT)
Sat 3 May - Bendigo (VIC)
Sun 4 May - Townsville (QLD)
Sat 10 May - Bunbury (WA)
