Grimy rapper Dizzee Rascal is an inspiration to us all. Two reasons...
One:
His brand behaviour has been is based around collaboration.
Hardly anyone listens to UK hip hop, but Dizzee has taken himself out of that niche through successful partnerships with everyone from Arctic Monkeys to Calvin Harris. Far from diluting his influence, its served only to increase it, and that of the niche genre from whence he came. And what he's doing is NOT piggybacking. He's talked in the past about collaborating with Kate Bush - which would be doing her a favour PR-wise, but would also further strengthen Dizzee's "Rep".
That's because collaboration always works (well, a collaborative attitude will always pay off in the end). So many brands are too precious to be seen next to other brands, and miss awesome opportunities as a result. Mutual backscratching is basically proven as a very efficient and effective way to do business.
More fundamentally than that, Dizzee's collaborative attitude shows a depth of understanding of his target market. These are kids who've grown up plugged into a 'net where mashups are the norm, where the barriers to social interaction are so low that you "might as well give it a go" every time. Collaboration is just a bigger part of life now. Its only right that this change in attitude is reflected by brands.
So, if Noel Gallagher's recent un-endorsement of Jay Z's Glastonbury appearance is symptomatic of his attitude to collaboration, I think we can safely assume we won't be hearing from Oasis anytime soon.
(One of the strengths of Nonsense is that its essentially a vehicle for us to engineer collaborations with great people - and its working for us so far! We're open about it, and clients respect that, and reap the benefits.)
Two:
He's real.
Don't worry, I'm not getting all street on yo asses here. Dizzee's brand talks in a way that is exactly how the product is. Granted, its easier because he's a one man brand - but think about how many interviews you've read where celebs/artists talk like they're been briefed two minutes previously by a PR guy (wonder why?).
In Monday's LondonPaper, Dizzee gave an interview that - in one exchange in particular - exhibited tonnes of personality and made me laugh out loud. I bought his latest single on iTunes as almost a direct result. Here it is, dear reader:
LP: What requests do you make at a festival?
Dizzee: I'm really low maintenance. But it pisses me off when people can't get the simple things right, like honey and lemon so I don't lose my voice.
LP: How do they manage to get that wrong?
Dizzee: They cut the lemon so thin. It's not for presentation you silly bastards, its for squeezing into the fucking drink. What the fuck is that? Just putting a bunch of thin lemons into the water doesn't work you fucking...
LP: Have you lost your rag?
Dizzee: I've had to! It's not like I asked for some unicorn midgets!
The man is a genius.
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