Real name:

Dizzee Rascal: Dylan Mills
Tinchy Stryder: Kwasi Danquah

Reason for nickname:

DR: A teacher first called him ‘rascal’ during his fairly adventurous schooldays
TS: His diminutive height (5’1) and his command of the computer game, Strider

Date of birth:

DR: 1 October 1985
TS: 10 June 1986

Place of birth:

DR: London
TS: Ghana

Grew up:

DR: Bow, East London
TS: Bow, East London

Started making music:

DR: Age 14
TS: Age 13

Grime apprenticeship:

DR: Self-produced single, ‘I Luv U’, age 16. Teenage pirate radio DJ. Sidewinder Award for Best Newcomer MC 2002. Member of Roll Deep crew 2002–2003
TS: Linchpin of the Ruff Sqwad collective. Teenage pirate radio DJ. Starred on Roll Deep’s Street Anthems compilation with ‘U Were Always’

Notable mentors:

DR: Wiley
TS: Wiley

Record labels:

DR: XL Records and his own record company, Dirtee Stank
TS: Takeover, Island and Takeover Roc Nation (with Jay-Z)

Albums released:

DR: Boy in Da Corner (2003), Showtime (2004), Maths + English (2007), Tongue N’ Cheek (2009)
TS: Star in the Hood (2007), Catch 22 (2009), Third Strike (scheduled for release in November 2010)

Chart achievements:

DR: Number 1 singles: ‘Dance Wiv Me’, ‘Bonkers’, ‘Holiday’, ‘Dirtee Disco’, ‘Shout’
TS: Number 1 singles: ‘Number 1’, ‘Never Leave You’. 2009’s best-selling UK solo artist

Awards / nominations:

DR: Awards include: Mercury Music Prize (2003), Best UK Male (MOBO Awards 2008), Best UK Male Solo Artist (Brits 2010)
TS: Nominations include: Best UK Act, Best Song and Best Album (MOBO Awards 2009), Best Single (Brits 2010)

The accolade that got away:

DR: The coveted Popjustice £20 Music Prize for best pop single 2008: he was nominated for ‘Dance Wiv Me’, but lost out to Girls Aloud
TS: The coveted Popjustice £20 Music Prize for best pop single 2009: he was nominated for ‘Take Me Back’, but lost out to Girls Aloud

Celebrity fans:

DR: Prince Harry
TS: Jay-Z, P Diddy

Collaborations:

DR: Florence + The Machine, Calvin Harris, James Corden, Basement Jaxx
TS: N-Dubz, Amelle Berrabah (Sugababes), Taio Cruz, Gang Gang Dance

What the press said:

DR: ‘Some accuse Dizzee of selling out. Better to think of him as a natural storyteller whose scope has widened as his audience has grown’ (Guardian)
TS: ‘If grime was the football world, Tinchy Stryder would be like your Michael Owens and Wayne Rooneys of today’ (Independent)

Best headline to date:

DR: ‘Rapper held in bat probe’ (BBC). On further investigation, however, this article did not concern a hitherto repressed chiropteran fetish, but rather an object more cricket-related
TS: ‘Tinchy Stryder: Rapping with the Lib Dems’ (Guardian). Stryder’s early career was bankrolled by his manager’s father, Norman Lamb MP, who remortgaged his home to drum up funds

Most prescient lyric:

DR: ‘I'm gonna search for big money stacks, top 10s and platinum whacks’. Seven years after its release, Dizzee Rascal’s objectives in ‘Jus’ a Rascal’ have been clearly achieved: Tongue N’ Cheek was recently certified platinum. He’s had eight top 10s. Money stacks, we guess, prevail
TS: ‘You’re number one, in the race, you’re the leader’. Stryder’s hit in cahoots with N-Dubz was the first chart-topper to make actual reference to the phrase ‘number one’ in its title, thus succeeding where the likes of Goldfrapp, Sparks, Garbage, Nelly and Sleater-Kinney had previously failed

Potential alternative careers:

DR: Newsnight presenter: he put Jeremy Paxman to shame on an excruciating Obama special that saw Paxo call him ‘Mr Rascal’. Or Prime Minister: if he ran the country, he once claimed, he’d campaign for ‘more strip clubs, better takeaway food and no congestion charge in London’
TS: Footballer: he played for the Wimbledon Youth Team. Or graphic artist: last year, he completed a BA in Moving Image and Animation at the University of East London. Or fashion designer: his Star in the Hood street clothing company launched last year to international acclaim

Likes:

DR: Steaks, summertime, female companionship
TS: Diana Vickers, watches, Manchester United

Dislikes:

DR: Camping at festivals
TS: Camping at festivals

Pearls of wisdom:

DR: ‘If you’re going to work, you should follow your heart; nothing in life is easy, so it might as well be what you want’
TS: ‘It’s important for me to show that black males aren’t all about looking threatening and robbing your granny’