
Rapper with four UK number ones reveals he's retrained as a plasterer after being found guilty of assault
The singer has landed five UK number ones in his career so far
HOUSE FIX UP Rapper with four UK number ones reveals he's retrained as a plasterer after being found guilty of assault
RAPPER Dizzee Rascal has got a secret side from his typical stage persona after secretly becoming a qualified plasterer.
The 40-year-old rapper, real name Dylan Kwabena Mills MBE, has become famed for storming the charts and earning five UK number ones including Bonkers, Dance Wiv Me and Dirtee Disco.
Advertisement
5
Dizzee Rascal trained up as a plasterer during the Covid pandemic
Credit: Getty - Contributor
5
The star said that other trainees were 'miffed' that he was there
Credit: Getty
However, his career was derailed when he was convicted of assaulting his ex-fiancée, Cassandra Jones, in 2022 during a 'domestic dispute' about child contact.
But Dizzee has now revealed that, prior to this, he took part in a new qualification during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Forking out £1,495 for the course at Able Skills Construction Training in Dartford, Kent, Dizzee is now fully-certified plasterer.
Speaking to Fix Radio (via NeedToKnow), the singer said: 'I did a plastering course for however long.
Advertisement
'I forgot how to do it, I got the certificate and everything.
'In the pandemic yeah, for some reason I felt like I needed to learn to do stuff.
'Big up Able Skills. It was wicked.'
However, he added that he wasn't initially welcomed by the others taking part on the part-time course, explaining: 'People were miffed, when I got in the queue people were like 'What's he doing here?'
Advertisement
'Towards the end there was a couple dudes, I've been with them for weeks.
'They were like 'Hey oh my God it's you, hey man, he's rich man, he's famous man'.
Dizzee Rascal, 37, avoids jail after attacking ex-girlfriend and shoving her to the ground
'Right at the end is when they clocked it.'
The star got the certificate before his conviction, which he tried unsuccessfully to overturn in 2023.
Advertisement
He was able to swerve a jail sentence at the time, instead having to wear an electronic tag for 24 weeks after being handed a community order.
As part of the rules of the tag, he had a curfew between 8pm and 6am.
He was also slapped with a 12-month restraining order and ordered to pay £2,190 prosecution costs and a £95 victim surcharge.
Prior to his arrest, he won Best British Solo Artist at the Brits, and in 2012 he performed during the opening ceremony at the London Olympics.
Advertisement
5
The star's chart-topping career stalled after he was convicted of assault in 2022
Credit: Redferns
5
The singer said he has already forgotten how to do the skill despite forking out over £1.4k on the course
Credit: Getty - Contributor
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Powys County Times
2 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Creative industries to get £380m boost ahead of industrial strategy launch
Britain's film, music and video game industries are set to receive millions of pounds of investment as the Government seeks to ensure the UK's place as a creative superpower. The investment, announced by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, will see £380 million spent on a range of projects intended to double private investment in the creative industries. Ms Nandy said the investment would 'boost regional growth, stimulate private investment, and create thousands more high-quality jobs'. The figure includes £25 million for research into cutting-edge technologies such as the virtual avatars used in Abba Voyage, and £75 million to support the film industry. It will also see £30 million put towards backing start-up video games companies – an industry worth billions of pounds to the UK – and another £30 million for the music industry, including an increase in funding for grassroots venues. Another £150 million will be split between the mayors of Manchester, Liverpool, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, the North East and the West of England to support creative businesses in their regions. The announcement comes as the Government prepares to publish its industrial strategy next week, billed as a 10-year, multibillion-pound plan to back certain sectors and secure growth for the UK economy. The creative industries are set to be one of the winners, with a plan for the sector expected to be published alongside the wider industrial strategy. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'The UK's creative industries are world-leading and have a huge cultural impact globally, which is why we're championing them at home and abroad as a key growth sector in our modern industrial strategy.' But earlier this month, the Government also rejected a planning application for a major new film studio near Holyport, in Berkshire, over its impact on the green belt. The £380 million has been welcomed by the industry, with the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu) saying it was a 'show of commitment to the sector'. But Bectu chief Philippa Childs said creative workers would also be looking for 'sustained support' from the Government as the sector 'recovers from a series of external shocks'. Recent years have seen the sector rocked by Covid, the cost-of-living crisis and concerns about the impact of AI and Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on films made outside the US. Conservative shadow culture secretary Stuart Andrew accused Labour of threatening the 'very survival' of the creative industries. He said: 'From their national insurance jobs tax to their business rates hike, Labour are pushing creative businesses to the brink, and we now know that Rachel Reeves has a secret plan to raise taxes – meaning things will only get worse. 'Labour must recognise that their economic mismanagement is dealing a devasting blow to the sector.'


Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'We made a change after Covid that's let us quit our jobs to travel the world'
Ryan Losasso and Jade Beaty, 30, are now known as Live The Dash and travel across the world filming their exploits for their TikTok account, which is followed by 505,000 people A couple quit their desk jobs and now travel the world full-time after discovering what they had captured on holiday. Ryan Losasso and Jade Beaty, 30, are now known as Live The Dash, one of the biggest UK travel creators with 505,000 followers on TikTok. They live a life many dream of, getting paid to whizz around the world to intriguing destinations. The advertising workers had not planned to become full-time TikTok content creators. In fact, it wasn't until they returned from a big six-month trip at the turn of the Covid lockdowns that they realised what they were sitting on. "We had all this video content when the world shut down, and we had a lot of time on our hands. So we turned to this huge stock of footage," Ryan told the Mirror. "We set ourselves a challenge of posting a video every day for 30 days. Then when some of that did really well, it spurred us on. We continued to post every day for six months." Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@ READ MORE: Tourist warning to 10 million as Europe's hottest capital on alert Jade added: "It was surprising how quickly we got through that content. On a walk in Spain, the videos were doing quite well, and we realised we were going to run out of content soon. We started joking that we'd start going on trips." At first, the couple juggled their desk jobs with travel, booking themselves onto the cheapest flight out after they clocked off on a Friday and returning on Sunday. Two years ago, they decided to go full time. The risk has clearly paid off, as Jade and Ryan are among the most watched travel TikTok channels and won the platform's Travel Award for 2024. Part of the secret to their success is putting in the research hours before they go on a trip and then only travelling when they've landed on a great idea. That might be heading to New York to see if the hallowed 'dollar slice' of pizza can still be purchased, or around the UK in search for a genuine 99p 99 whippy. They've also spent the night on the fastest sleeper train in the world, which rushes snoozing passengers from Hong Kong to Shanghai. "Was it amazing? The tech is amazing, but you're sharing with three other strangers. It reaches 270 mph, but it's super smooth," Ryan explained. "For TikTok specifically, we have our hooks before we go. We film all we can, we film the journey, we film two intros, two hooks. We bet on all the horses." The search for something new that will engage their audiences takes the pair to places they might otherwise not have visited, which often turn out to be the most enjoyable. READ MORE: Brits warned of travel chaos as European airport hit by 10th walkout in 45 days "Somewhere I wasn't expecting much from was Weston-super-mare. It had a lot of cheap whippies. It is obviously a faded Victorian seaside town, but the beach is gorgeous," Ryan said. Jade added: "We also like to hunt out weird hotels. We stayed in a cow cabin with unlimited free milk, near Ed Sheeran's hometown, called Easton Farm Park. We also stayed in these huge tree houses in Derby." The old adage of 'if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life' seems true in the couple's case. They still have the travel bug and are hugely excited by their trips. Part of that means pushing themselves to engage with people they meet along the way. "We have this rule that whenever we're on the plane, we have to speak to the person next to us. One guy told us 'do what excites you'. Six years later, we still tell ourselves that. We call it Conrad's message." The couple also recommends running every day and practicing good communication for travelling couples who want to avoid arguments while on the road. In terms of finding inspiration, they recommend using the adjustable 'For You' feed on TikTok. It is now possible to customise content preferences so you can see more or less of certain content in topics from over 10 categories – including travel, sports, nature, and food and drink An AI-powered 'smart keyword filter" that allows users to limit content they don't want to see'. "The For You feed is the heart of TikTok, a way for us to discover new content. We use the new features, manage topics, and think it's really cool that you can filter which topics you want to see more or less of."


South Wales Guardian
2 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Dua Lipa surprises fans with Jamiroquai frontman during London show
Amidst a flurry of dance routines, costume changes and confetti canons, the singer made her way through her latest album, Radical Optimism, on Friday night before bringing out the 90s funk band frontman. Without missing her biggest hits, the British-Albanian songstress performed the likes of New Rules, Be The One and Barbie's Dance The Night to more than 70,000 people. Transforming the stadium into her own dance floor, the pop star kicked off her concert with Training Season before pausing to say she was 'blown away,' adding that it was 'surreal' to be performing at Wembley. Appearing a little emotional, she said: 'This is so surreal and so crazy. 'It means the absolute world to me that you are here tonight. 'It feels really really special to be here tonight. 'It is 10 years since our first ever London show to about 350 people and I just dreamt of a night like this where I get to be in front of 70,000 people.' Later, she left the stage to take photographs with fans and asked if they were having a good night, but most were too excited to form full sentences. After taking photos with the front row fans, Lipa returned to the stage to perform These Walls before introducing the song that 'started everything'. She said: 'I want to take it back to the beginning a little bit. This song really kind of changed my life. 'This is the song that got me signed and it's the song that started everything and I feel like with weather like this, there is only one song that I could do. This is Hotter Than Hell.' The singer again expressed how grateful she was to be performing at Wembley, before introducing someone who really 'inspired' her. She said: 'Someone who has really been a trailblazer for British music and has really paved the way, I feel so lucky to share the stage with the one and only Jamiroquai!' The frontman of the 90s funk band, Kay, emerged onto the stage, joining Lipa to sing the group's hit song Virtual Insanity. Towards the end of the concert, Lipa returned to the hit songs that prompted her rise to fame, including 2016's Be The One, and her 2017 break-up anthem New Rules. Lipa has several Brit Awards to her name, along with three Grammys and was one of the headline acts at Glastonbury Festival last year. She was recently named the most played artist across radio, TV and public places in the UK for a second time by music licensing company Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) and is the youngest person to feature on this year's Sunday Times 40 Under 40 Rich List, making her one of the wealthiest musicians in the UK. Lipa recently confirmed her engagement to Masters Of The Air actor Callum Turner.