Prince Rapid is a name that will go down in grime history as one of the scene's greatest beat-makers. The east London native came through the ranks early as a member of the revered, seminal Ruff Sqwad in 2001—an outfit whose legacy lives on through their forward-thinking vision, both sonically and lyrically. Someone else who rose up alongside Rapid and crew at the time was Dylan "Dizzee Rascal" Mills, who could've passed for an unofficial member at one point. "The first time I ever saw Dizzee was at The Link Centre, a youth club based in Bow," Rapid tells Complex. "He was on the decks mixing jungle music and I remember it was the first time I had ever seen a DJ blend two tracks. He went everywhere with a bag on his back, full of 30-40 vinyls. At this stage, he was only a DJ; he hadn't made the transition to an MC yet. As we all got to know each other, he would come to my house and I'd show him videos and new tracks by artists who were out at the time and he would say, 'Nah! That's shit! Wait until I come out with my music.' He was very focused and knew he would cause mayhem, even though he hadn't released a single track in his life."
And it wasn't before long that Dizzee fell in love with the mic. Rapid remembers like it was yesterday. "The first time I saw him MC was at a house party on the Isle Of Dogs," he recalls. "I was MCing with Ruff Sqwad and he was on the decks. He came off the decks, asked for the mic and dropped a 16 bar, and the whole party went absolutely nuts! For me, that was the birth of Dizzee Rascal—the MC. Literally, from there, when Ruff Sqwad was on Heat FM, Dizzee would ask us if he could come and spray some bars with us; we'd always say 'yes', but after the set he would stay and MC for another two hours [laughs]. This became a regular thing but he was very determined to practice and be heard."
In celebration of Dizzee Rascal's recent announcement that he'll be performing his debut album, Boy In Da Corner, live in London on Oct. 22, Complex asked Prince Rapid to make an exclusive minimix featuring known and not-so-known deep cuts from the vault. You can stream and download the mix for free, below, and get the full tracklisting on the flip. Prince Rapid releases his new EP, Ace, on Oct. 28, and you can pre-order it here.
Tracklisting:
1. Crime - Dizzee Rascal
2. I Mean - Dizzee Rascal
3. Ain't Having It - Dizzee Rascal feat. Wiley
4. Hoe - Dizzee Rascal (Instrumental)
5. Stop Dat - Dizzee Rascal
6. Strings Hoe - Dizzee Rascal (Instrumental)
7. I Luv U - Dizzee Rascal
8. Seems 2 - Dizzee Rascal
9. Live O - Dizzee Rascal (Instrumental)
10. Hold Ya Mouf' - Dizzee Rascal feat. God's Gift
11. Respect Me - Dizzee Rascal
12. Stand Up Tall - Dizzee Rascal
13. Party In My Motor - Dizzee Rascal
