Getting Dizzee on ‘Maths + English’

PREVIEW. Dizzee Rascal (born Dylan Mills) was just 19 when he won the prestigious Mercury Prize in his native England for his debut, “Boy in da Corner.” The album and award propelled the young rapper/producer past other practitioners of the so-called “grime” genre, jump-starting a career that continues today as Dizzee’s third album, “Maths + English” finally hits America after proving his highest-charting album yet in the U.K.

Now 22, Dizzee notes how strange it was being hailed as a teen prodigy while still living in the vicious East End of London slums that inspired “Boy in da Corner.”

“I’d never had that kind of exposure. I tried to stay humble and work hard.”

He lives in a better part of London now, but still mines his old hood for material.

“Maths + English” is slicker than Dizzee’s debut and his sophomore “Showtime,” though he stills raps quickly in a meaty accent and laces his thoughtfully dark songs with goofy humor, creepy atmosphere, diffused beats and lots of profanity. As always, he makes much of the music himself. “I’ve always done that. Since I could rap, I tried to make beats. I did it because no one else would.”

On top of international tours and working on a fourth album, Dizzee has found time to collaborate with fellow British music stars Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen — “They’re really professional and I know I’ll come up with something I’m not going to come with my own” — and run his own record label, Dirtee Stank. His live show, meanwhile, remains an action-packed affair, featuring just Dizzee and his DJ. He likens it to early Run DMC. 

“[It’s] a really energy-filled show. Like the ultimate rap show, but without the big props.”

Dizzee Rascal
with El-P
Sunday, 9 p.m.
Middle East Downstairs
472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge
MBTA: Red Line to Central
$22, 18+, 617-864-EAST
www.mideastclub.com