Rapper with five number one singles and Mercury Prize reveals he’s retrained as plasterer

Imagine hiring a plasterer and Dizzee Rascal turns up at your house (Picture: Andrew Benge/Redferns)

Legendary 00s rapper Dizzee Rascal has revealed he has retrained as a plasterer, adding another accomplishment to his already lengthy list.

The Bonkers hitmaker, 40, is considered a pioneer in British hip hop and grime music, and has garnered five number one records in the UK.

But Dizzee, real name Dylan Kwabena Mills, could one day be skimming your walls after spending £1,495 to become a plasterer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Baseline Junkie rapper shared that he became qualified with a City and Guilds Certificate in Plastering after attending Able Skills Construction Training in Dartford.

Despite saying that he had forgotten the skills that he learned on the course, Dizzee felt he ‘needed to learn to do stuff.’

‘I did a plastering course for however long. I forgot how to do it, I got the certificate and everything,’ he told Fix Radio.

The rapper, real name Dylan Kwabena Mills, became a qualified plasterer during lockdown (Picture: Andrew Benge/Redferns) He spent more than £1,000 learning the new skill (Picture: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Paramount+)

‘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, the musician said that some of his fellow coursemates were ‘miffed’ he had enrolled, asking ‘what’s he doing here?’

Some didn’t recognise him, not realising they were sharing a classroom with an Ivor Novello and Brit Award winner.

‘Towards the end, there was a couple dudes I’ve been with them for weeks. They were like “Hey, oh my Go,d it’s you, hey man, he’s rich man, he’s famous man”.

‘Right at the end is when they clocked it.’

The London artist has several well-known singles under his belt, including Dance Wiv Me, Holiday, Fix Up Look Sharp, and You’ve Got The Dirtee Love.

The multi-award-winning artist wasn’t immediately recognised by some of his classmates (Picture@ David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

He is credited as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as the artist to bring UK rap into the mainstream.

He has worked with many huge artists, including Calvin Harris, Arctic Monkeys, Florence + The Machine, Robbie Williams, and Shakira.

Dizzee has put out eight albums, with the latest, Don’t Take It Personal, released last year.

In 2020, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Birthday Honours for services to music.

In 2022, he was given a community order with a 24-week curfew and a 12-month restraining order and must wear an electronic tag after appearing in court to face sentencing for assaulting his ex-fiancée Cassandra Jones in 2021.

The grime star was found guilty of attacking Jones, with whom he shares two children, with a judge concluding he had been ‘abusive and aggressive’.

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