Dizzee Rascal

Rising to prominence in the UK garage scene, Dizzee took a set of decks bought for him by his mum and turned himself from a snarling underground MC into the nation's best-loved urban pop star. Stabbed by a rival gang in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, he left his mates in the Roll Deep crew behind and shot to fame when debut album Boy In Da Corner scooped the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in 2003. Acclaimed by the underground and now fawned on by critics, albums Showtime (2004) and Maths + English (2007) established a mainstream audience, but it was the head-pounding infectiousness of singles Dance Wiv Me, Bonkers and Holiday that sent him stellar. All three tracks went to Number 1 and with fourth album Tongue N' Cheek topping sales of 200,000, the clown prince of grime pop was finally given a crown and it was validated when he won the BRIT for Best British Male Solo Artist in 2010.