Dizzee-Rascal_04-26-2016

Dizzee Rascal Discusses Racism In Vlad TV Interview, Compares The US To Third-World Countries

East London native Dizzee Rascal has given an interview with vladTVin which the two discussed racism in England compared to the United States, politics and poverty.

Though the interview started lightly enough with banter regarding Dizzee’s accent, it soon turned into a more serious discussion, which prompted the rapper to say that he is glad he grew up in England. Touring and travelling in the United States, he said he found parts of the country that were more like those of third world countries. “I’ve been to areas in this country that are fuckin’… I can’t believe it’s America. It’s like third world. I been to parts of Miami and parts of Houston and New Orleans, back in the day. Before Katrina… The poverty I’ve seen here is a madness. The lack of empathy and how crazy this country is, I thought I knew.”

Talking about growing up in a relatively poor area with a lot of racial conflict, the Pagans rapper said that while he may have grown up watching music videos and thinking it was cool to say that he was “from the hood,” he didn’t quite understand what that meant until he spent time in the US and witnessed a level of poverty and instances of racism more overt than he had ever experienced before. Having grown up in East London, the rapper says that he did experience racism, but that it was different to that faced by those in the US. “Racism’s more blatant here [America]… I grew up in a racist area, I grew up in East London. But… I never felt like the police were gonna kill me.”

The interview, which you can watch below, wrapped up with an entirely relatable and cheeky comment about smoking too much weed and falling into the Illuminati hole.