Dizzee Rascal

“Sometimes people chat loosely. Sometimes people just speak their minds and what's on their mind ain't necessarily real or facts, so I don't take it too serious. I'm more interested in making the music, I don't really play that.”

“I think a black man, purple man, Martian man can run the country... as long as he does right by the people.”

“The world's a jungle in my eyes, innit? Everything's tribal. If you see someone who don't look like you - especially the colour of your skin - you're going to be suspicious, or not as welcoming or warming, innit? I've learned not to take it too personal.”

“I'm not really going to defend anyone's lyrics.”

“I come from nothing, man.”

“I found it funny I was on 'Newsnight.'”

“I'm not gonna lie; I don't always like everything about Bow and I don't always like everyone in Bow and they don't always like me but on the whole I love where I come from. I'm proud of where I come from and I'm proud to represent that area.”

“Music's something that I really wasn't pushed into, it was something I just kinda chose, I just kept pushing myself, and it was all down to me.”

“Barack Obama embraced hip-hop, man. That's the way he got through to kids.”

“Life is hard enough. Life is always going to be hard, so you need to push for what you want.”

“I actually really like DJ Assault - a Detroit a ghetto tech DJ, who's produced good music that's influenced me a bit.”

“People talk about the pop part - they don't talk about me being an independent artist. I made it look easy, that's the problem!”

“Hip hop is the way it is because of America.”

“All that really moves me is music.”

“I'm the first British artist to have two successive number ones on his own independent label.”

“Rappers and MCs have always had an alias. Building your character, it helps you to get things out.”

“Some people don't want to be helped, they want to do what they're doing, it's all they know.”

“As a kid, I felt I had it bad - and people where I came from did - but if I'd been in a similar position in America, it could've been 10 times worse. We have the NHS. We don't have slums like I've seen in the Deep south, or shocking intolerance.”

“If you want real truth, I'll tell you real truth, even though I know a lot of people aren't gonna like it.”

“I'd done plenty of dark stuff and edgy stuff and hardcore stuff, and I kind of found that stuff easy.”