Skepta Insists He’s Not Dissing Dizzee Rascal on ‘Konnichiwa’

Skepta is the man in the UK grime scene and beyond, his album Konnichiwa dropping this past Friday (May 6), announcing his presence in rap in a major way. Sitting down with DJ Semtex, Skepta spoke on a number of topics, among them, lyrics that some have interpreted as a diss to fellow UK spitter Dizzee Rascal.

On Konnichiwa's opening track by the same name, Skepta raps, "A lot of these MCs disgust me / Real talk, you ain’t best MC in the country.” But Skepta brushed off the supposed beef, telling Semtex, “Dizzee Rascal, that’s a very, very relevant person in my scene. That’s not the first time I would take his lyrics and flip it. Some people are saying I sonned him. I didn’t son him in the intro. I write a lot of bars about types of people. If the shoe fits anyone, they can wear it if they want to. I’m like that granddad on the porch that’s dissing all the shit I don’t like [Laughs]. That’s what makes me spit.”

Throughout the rest of the interview, Skepta discusses being an independent artist and the work he's put into the game thus far, saying, "I don’t know what I’m going to end up doing but its definitely in the right direction for freedom and truth." He as well points to Rat King, Flatbush ZOMBiES and World's Fair as examples of acts who put the rapping above all else and inspired him to do the same and said that he still doesn't know how Drake first heard of him. "I will never know," he said. "I'll put my money on he just found me searching online for music cause that’s what he likes. He’s a music lover."

Peep the full interview up top.