Dizzee goes Universal

Dizzee Rascal has jumped in with the majors, taking his Dirtee Stank imprint to Universal in a “multi-layered deal”.

The rapper (real name Dylan Mills) started up the label in 2000 with manager and producer Nick Cage, before signing to XL for three critically acclaimed albums that put him on the map as an underground rap sensation.

Turning back to his imprint in 2008, Dizzee scored his first truly massive hit, releasing number one single ‘Dance wiv me’. This was followed by the release of ‘Bonkers’ and ‘Holiday’ from the album ‘Tongue n Cheek’, taking the man that Jeremy Paxman once addressed as ‘Mr Rascal’ on national television to legitimate pop stardom.

Nick Cage said: “I am incredibly excited as to what the new year holds for Dirtee Stank, we’ve achieved so much by ourselves in the last couple of years that the mind boggles as to what is possible now we have done this deal”

Universal will handle marketing and distribution for Dizzee’s forthcoming fifth album alongside releases from Dirtee Stank signing Katie Pepper, though it isn’t known if the label will distribute all releases on the label.

Universal UK Chairman and CEO David Joseph said: “Dizzee Rascal is a truly exceptional artist, one of the crown jewels of the UK music scene, and we are delighted and proud that he has joined us at Universal. We are sure that together we can help Dizzee achieve his global ambition”.

As previously reported, Universal purchased EMI’s record labels for £1.2bn in November.

What are your thoughts on the deal? In an era where signing to a major is no longer the key objective for many artists, 27-year old Dizzee Rascal has experienced a unique trajectory to success- Starting his own imprint, getting picked up and developed by one of the best independent labels in the world before going back to his own label, becoming a massive pop star in the UK and now signing to a major with a view to global pop domination.