"Dirtee Cash" is a song recorded by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...

and was released as the fourth single from his fourth studio album ''

Tongue n' Cheek ''Tongue n' Cheek'' is the fourth studio album by British rapper Dizzee Rascal. The album was released on 20 September 2009 and includes the number one singles, " Dance wiv Me", " Bonkers", "Holiday" and " Dirtee Disco". It has been certified p ...

''. It was released digitally on 21 September 2009 and follows his No. 1 hits "

Holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

" and "

Bonkers Bonkers may refer to: Television * ''Bonkers'' (American TV series), a 1993–1994 animated series * ''Bonkers'' (British TV series), 2007 comedy * '' Bonkers!'', a 1979 British TV show * "Bonkers" (''The Price Is Right''), a game segment ...

". It is his first solo song from the album and has to date reached No. 10 in the UK. The song samples "

Dirty Cash (Money Talks) "Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" is a song by British dance music act the Adventures of Stevie V. It was first released in December 1989 on the Mercury record label, then again in 1990. The 1990 release peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, ...

" by the British dance act

The Adventures of Stevie V The Adventures of Stevie V was a British dance music act from Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, it scored several hits on the UK Singles Chart and the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, most notably with the ...

. Dizzee told ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'' that the song is about "how if you ain't got money, but you still spend it anyway, life is gonna bite you in the arse".

Music video

On 4 October 2009, Dizzee said in an interview on The Radio 1 Chart ShowMcAlpine, Fraser
Dizzee Rascal - 'Dirtee Cash'
Saturday, 21 November 2009. Retrieved Sunday, 25 September 2011.

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

. that a music videoDirtee Cash - Video on Vimeo

Vimeo Vimeo ( ) is an American Online video platform, video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a ...

. had been filmed in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for the single. He said that the music video was based around ''

The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy (film director), Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt and Christopher Lee. The screenplay is by Anthony Shaffer (writer ...

''. The video contains political extremes and caricatures of things and people of Britain's history. These include

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

and events such as the

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

movement. In the conclusion of the video, books are burnt and, in the final shot, the text of

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

's "

And did those feet in ancient time "And did those feet in ancient time" is a poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic '' Milton: A Poem in Two Books'', one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. The date of 1804 on the title page is probably when the ...

" is destroyed like rubbish. This may be a reflection on the value of things past and how in the event of other circumstances may be lost to humanity forever. The video premiered on

4Music 4Music was a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. Launched on 15 August 2008, the original incarnation, replacing The Hits television channel, showed a mix of music and entertainment pr ...

on 20 October 2009.

Commercial performance

"Dirtee Cash" entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 11 on 27 September 2009 via downloads alone and peaked at No. 10 the following week. The single was released physically on 23 November 2009, placing at No. 38 that week. It was the first single from ''Tongue 'N Cheek'' not to reach No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was released through Dizzee's own Dirtee Stank label and distributed by

PIAS Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1982 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, In September 2024, the company was acquired by Universal Music Group. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European i ...

, therefore it qualified for the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

, where it reached No. 1 for two consecutive weeks.

Track listing

*Digital download # "Dirtee Cash" (radio edit) – 3:16 # "Dirtee Cash" (extended mix) – 4:21 # "Dirtee Cash" (BBC Radio One Live Lounge edit) – 3:39 # "Dirtee Cash" (

Sub Focus Nicolaas Douwma (born 13 April 1982), better known by his stage name Sub Focus, is an English DJ, music producer, songwriter and sound engineer. He has been releasing records since 2003. On 12 October 2009, he released his self-titled debut ...

mix) – 4:05 # "Dirtee Cash" (Phonat mix) – 3:06 # "Dirtee Cash" (music video) – 3:47 *CD single # "Dirtee Cash" (radio edit) – 3:18 # "Dirtee Cash" (extended mix) – 4:22 # "Dirtee Cash" (BBC Radio One Live Lounge edit) – 3:42 # "Dirtee Cash" (Sub Focus mix) – 4:07 *12" vinylDizzee Rascal - Dirtee Cash, 12" vinyle release

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

. # "Dirtee Cash" (radio edit) – 3:18 # "Dirtee Cash" (Sub Focus mix) – 4:07

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2009 songs 2009 singles Dizzee Rascal songs Music videos shot in London Songs written by Dizzee Rascal UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles