Dappy from N-Dubz tells LAUREN MURPHYabout the girl with the Dappy tattoo and the meaning of 'brap', and shares a fishy Liffey tale – complete with comedy Oirish accent
Let’s start with the basics. Where does the name Dappy come from?
Well, it comes from “dapper”. You know what dapper means . . . like a suit, you’re on point, you make money, you’re financially stable, you’re clever. You come from a negative into a positive, nothing into something. You get it?
Okay. Now can you explain what exactly the phrase “brap” means?
Brap? That’s just nothing. That’s just something we say in certain urban areas. Brap is a way of expressing happiness, like “Yeahhhhhhhh brap!” You get me?
N-Dubz are usually billed as troublemakers in the tabloids – do you think you get a hard time from the press?
Yeah, we do, but we don’t care. Obviously we’ve come from a negative environment, so they just think “Ohhh, these people are thugs”. we might come from that place, but we’re good-hearted people, y’know? And we put on a great show for the public. We’ve got so many dedicated N-Dubz fans that just swipe the press out, man.
A lot of people might say that Tulisa wears the trousers in the band – is that true?
Nah. She wears the trousers when it comes to behaving and being good as a band – but when it comes to being in the studio, and taking care of the albums and writing the albums, me and Fazer wear the trousers. But obviously she wears the trousers with her voice, ’cos she controls her own voice and it’s a beautiful voice. At the end of it, we turn a demo into a platinum record, and that’s what N-Dubz are about.
Your trademark is your headgear. What’s the deal with the hats?
I’m looking in the mirror right now, and right now my hair looks very nice, I must say. It’s nice and short at the sides, a nice little bit on top . . . I’m wearing some sunglasses, but no hat. Hats are only for under-18s projects. When I go to somewhere that’s for over-18s, I’ll be more mature – maybe I’ll wear a cap, or glasses, or I’ll take my hair out, put a hood on, have some jewellery on. It’s never just hats. I’m not a plonker, d’you know what I’m trying to say? If that’s what they see me as over there in Ireland.
Not at all, mea culpa. Why only at under-18s gigs, though?
The under-18s are the ones who scream, you have to understand. The rest of them, 28, 29, they’re women and they’re starting to get more mature. But the ages of 18-22, 23, 24 – they’re the ones who scream and cry for the band, man.
So the hats are a form of ear protection, then?!
Yeah, you could say that.
What’s the craziest thing an N-Dubz fan has ever done?
I’ve got one fan who’s tattooed my face all over her whole back. I’ve got another who’s got my face on her forearm.
Does that not freak you out a bit?
No, it’s good. That’s how it should be. N-Dubz and JLS have such a dedicated fan base, it’s unbelievable. Obviously, their fan base is bigger, due to the X Factor stuff, but N-Dubz’s is second. If I came to Dublin right now, and me and you walked down the main street, you’d have to hide me in your jacket or something.
How do you think N-Dubz would fare on The X Factor?
They’d love us because we’re such a home-grown act. We didn’t have to stand in a queue and wait to go in to an audition. We suffered for 10 years straight, and here we are – 1.5 million albums, four times platinum, four Mobos. Unfortunately we ain’t had a Brit, but it’s coming. It’s good to know that we’re the only band in our genre that have reached arena level. We’ve opened doors for a lot of people.
Finally, what would most people be surprised to know about you?
I’m a carp angler. Like, fishing, man. And I know a lot of Irish people fish, too, salmon and stuff. The last time we were over, I was standing outside our tour bus in Dublin next to that river you got running through, and I asked this old man , “Excuse me, you don’t know where I could go fishing, do you?”, and I said it in an Irish accent, trying to fit in, yeah? He goes to me, “You ain’t that boyo, are you?’ Dappy, is it? Give me a picture for me daughter, and I’ll tell you where you can go fishing.” So I took a picture with him, and he said “Go down there to that bit of the river, and you’ll catch a lot of good salmon there.” So I actually went to a fishing tackle shop in Dublin, but it was closed! And unfortunately we only had three or four hours left until we were performing, so I never got to fish in the end.
I don’t know how much of that to believe, but I did like your Irish accent
Everything is true, mate! Everything is absolutely true. Why would I lie about going fishing in the River Li-fif-fiffey, whatever you call it?
N-Dubz play Belfast’s Waterfront Hall tomorrow and Dublin’s Olympia on Sunday
