THIS boy has done it, seen it and bought the t shirt - and he's still just a teenager.

Well at least he sounds like he has and he raps like he has after seeing just the past 18 years of his life through the eyes of an east London lad.

Dizzee Rascal's debut album Boy In Da Corner is another step forward for hip hop which has been brewing in this country for some time without really hitting the heights like other genres.

Unlike the States, where hip-hop songs chart like rockets, it's taken the British music buying public a bit longer to catch on and now it has it must be here to stay.

Although just a youngster, Dizzee brings the real life to the hip hop scene as he says he doesn't rap about the weather - take note Big Brovaz.

He talks about the scenes he encounters on the streets of the capital.

And for his work in bringing urban music to the masses the whippersnapper has been awarded with a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize to be revealed in September.

Watch out The Darkness, this man could pip you to the post.

MS