Dizzee Rascal and Wiley have seemingly put their two-decade feud behind them after appearing onstage together in Dubai this weekend.
Dizzee was performing at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai on Saturday (October 28), when he introduced Wiley to the stage in an apparent gesture of the pair’s mended relationship.
According to footage shared from the gig, Dizzee can be heard joking as Wiley emerges from side stage: “Oh shit. Get off my stage, man. I didn’t say you could come on stage.”
The pair also hugged as the audience cheered at the reunion. It’s not clear if they performed together, or if Wiley was just in attendance.
@djstickyfingerz I don’t believe it 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Finally, Dizzee and Wiley on stage together 🤘🏾🤘🏾 #dizzee #dizzeerascal #wiley
@internationalgrime @Dizzee Rascal Brings Out @Wiley At His Headline Show In Dubai #InternationalGrime #DizzeeRascal #Wiley #Grime #GrimeMusic #UKGrime #UKGrimeMusic
Dizzee and Wiley’s beef is said to date back to an incident in Ayia Napa during July 2003, which saw Roll Deep members fighting with their South London counterparts, So Solid Crew.
In a 2016 interview with Time Out in 2016, Wiley confirmed the Ayia Napa incident to be the beginning of their friendship’s deterioration.
“The reason we haven’t spoken for so many years?… Basically, me and Dizzee went out one night [in Ayia Napa] and there was some fighting with another crew… Then the next day, I decided to carry it on – I didn’t pull out a knife,” Wiley recalled.
In his autobiography, Wiley opened up more about the incident. “Maybe I was naive, but I didn’t think it was going to be anything serious,” he wrote. “This is all men, young men, all egos, pride, beefing.
The ensuing years saw the pair exchange diss tracks and beef publicly on social media. In October 2017, the pair clashed on social media with a series of barbed tweets back and forth that involved Dizzee making underage sex allegations and death threats towards Wiley. Wiley denied Dizzee’s claims.
In 2020, Wiley faced backlash after making anti-Semitic comments that led to his eventual suspension from social media sites. Footage emerged the following year that appeared to show him going on another antisemitic tirade.
Last year, the rapper failed to turn up for a court hearing where he was due to face charges of burglary and assault.
Dizzee has faced his own controversy in recent years, after being found guilty of assaulting his ex-fiancé last year. In January this year, he lost an appeal against the conviction.