Dizzee Rascal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3voUHjPkNao&safe=active
 Dizzee Rascal
• http://www.nme.com/artists/dizzee-rascal
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVk7J-D4FPU&safe=active
• Dylan Kwabena Mills was born on the 18th September 1984.
• He grew up in London and is a hip hop recording artist and record producer.
• His debut album- ‘boy in da corner’ was released in 2003.
• He has received multiple number one songs:
• ‘Dance wiv me’-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2MiyZx8MTY&safe=active
• ‘Bonkers’- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISy0Hl0SBfg&safe=active
• ‘Holiday’- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE9A5osUes&safe=active
 Garage/ Grime music
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ-EVGJdo14&safe=active
• Grime music began in East London in the early 2000s.
• The style originally spread through pirate radio stations like
Rinse FM and underground scenes before it achieved a more
mainstream recognition.
• The style has had many names over time e.g. 8 bar, nu shape,
sublow and eskibeat.
• Some other big Grime artists other than Dizzee include: Letha
Bizzle, Wiley, Stormzy and many others.
Mercury music prize 2003-
‘Boy in da Corner’
• https://www.mercuryprize.com/
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3092520.stm
• The Mercury prize began in 1992 and is an annual music prize
for the best album in the UK and Ireland.
• It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and
British Association of Record Dealers in alternative to the Brit
awards.
• Previous early 2000s winners include: Badly Drawn Boy – The
Hour of Bewilderbeast, PJ Harvey – Stories from the City,
Stories from the Sea and Ms. Dynamite – A Little Deeper.
 2004 album- ‘Showtime’
• The album was released on the 6th September 2004 and is the second studio
album released by Dizzee.
• It has also been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for
selling over 100,000 copies.
• The album contains 15 songs including:
• ‘Stand up Tall’- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivbiIqmzKn0&safe=active
• ‘Graftin’- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyfvt_nF0MM&safe=active
• ‘Dream’- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AAhc4auA7A&safe=active
• At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from
mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 87 based on 28
reviews indicating ‘universal acclaim’.
• AllMusic gave the album 4 and half stars out of 5.
• Rolling Stone gave the album 3 and a half stars out of 5.
• Scott Plagenhoef from Pitchfork Media gave the album 8.6/10.
• Most of the reviews were positive but not extremely high ratings.
‘happy talk’- Captain Sensible 1982
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWydBxScoWM&safe=active
• Raymond Ian Burns (Captain Sensible) was born in 1954 and is
a songwriter, singer and guitarist.
• His cover of ‘Happy talk’ became a UK number one.
• The song is sampled in the chorus of ‘Dream’ by Dizzee.
 South Pacific musical
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBWjNlBko70&safe=active
• South Pacific is a musical with music composed by Richard Rodgers and
lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.
• The show premiered in 1945 and had a running of 1,925 performances.
• The musical features the song ‘Happy talk’ which Captain Sensible did a
cover of and Dizzee used for sampling in ‘Dream’.
Dougal Wilson
• https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/dougal-wilson-interview
• Dougal Wilson is the director for the ‘Dream’ music video.
• He was born in 1971 and directs commercials and music videos.
• He has directed commercials for: Orange, Stella Artois and Coca-Cola.
• He has directed music videos for: Will Young, Goldfrapp and Coldplay.
• He has twice won Best Director at the UK Creative and Design Awards (in
2004 and 2005 ), as well as having won Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions at
the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and D&AD awards in
2006 and 2008.
• http://www.studiodaily.com/2005/02/something-old-something-new-in-
dizzee-rascal-video/
Colonel Blimp Production
• https://blinkprods.com/
• Colonel Blimp Productions (now Blink) is the company that
produced the music video.
• They were founded in 1985.
• Blink was named "Production Company of the Year" by
Campaign in 2012 for the second consecutive year, having
previously held the title in 2011 and 1997. They also have many
other awards/ nominations.
• Colonel Blimp was founded in 2006 as the music video
production arm of Blink, and has since merged with Blink.
 ‘muffin the mule’
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spQY2FbCUtM&safe=active
• ‘Muffin The Mule’ was a children’s TV programme from the 1940s and 50s and was very successful.
• The TV show features a puppet and a lady who narrates the show.
• The idea for ‘Muffin The Mule’ is very similar to the style for ‘Dream’.
• Both use puppets, have a very similar female actor and similar role and there is also a extremely familiar
setting.
• The childlike themes of the show contrast with the more mature themes of the music video.
Green screen technology
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GqIpOgBuxE&safe=ac
tive
• Green/ blue screen technology is used widely in films,
commercials, music videos etc. for special effects.
• The technique is used by keeping the background one colour
(green is used as it does not appear in skin tone, blue was too
commonly used in clothes and skin) and removing the
background, leaving it transparent to add other backgrounds.
• Wilson uses a green screen to make Dizzee appear puppet size
however he also shot some shots of Dizzee with life-size
puppets to make the video more realistic and slightly hide the
use of special effects. It made it harder for the audience to tell
which was real and which was special effects.
 Post-war Britain
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZi_rrZX4bo&safe=active
• In the music video the woman in a 1950s white upper-class
woman. This reflects the hierarchy of society during that time.
• During the post-war period there was also a huge increase in
migration from countries such as the Caribbean, India and
Pakistan in search for jobs in Britain. This created a more
diverse ethnic culture.
• This idea of hierarchy represents the theme presented in the
music video. Dizzee presents the idea of culture and stereotypes
within society which reflects the hierarchy created in the 1950s.
 Rebellion and anti-
social behaviour
• https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/aug/09/power-of-the-hoodie
• In the music video the puppets are seen wearing hoodies, drinking and
there is a sense of ‘gang culture’.
• The music video contains the theme of stereotypes and the idea of
teenagers/ young adults being more rebellious and dangerous.
• The pianist in the music video is often seen as looking scared or appalled
by the acts Dizzee and the puppets were committing. This shows the idea of
teenagers being seen as more rebellious and the way adults/ society reacts.
It also reflects her upper-class status as they are seen on the street, which
is something not associated with her class. She reflects the expected
reaction of the older audience towards rap music and the actions being
carried out.
• This was shown when the shopping centre Bluewater in Kent decided to
ban hoodies (shown in article above).
Elements in the video
• Pastel blocks at the start of the video- refer to
childhood and ‘Muffin The Mule’.
• Music box- Returns at the end of the video covered
in stars to signify Dizzee’s success.
• Puppets- ‘Muffin The Mule’ and childhood.
• Police man- The idea of police brutality and the way
gang cultures are treated.
• The setting- Contrasts the themes of the video and
song with the childhood show it is based off.