From the green fields of Glastonbury to the dance floors of Ibiza, Dizzee Rascal’s Bonkers has been the standout tune of the summer. The exuberant anthem is one of three No1 hits on Tongue N’ Cheek, his fourth album, which looks set to cement his status as a national treasure. Known to his African-born mother as Dylan Kwabena Mills, the 24 year-old has become an increasingly influential figure in Britain’s cultural life since he won a Mercury Award for his debut Boy in da Corner in 2003.

By fusing his urgent chat with dance music, over the past 12 months Mills has taken the previously obscure sound of British rap to the top of the charts. He has also paved the way for an invasion of the top 40 by a series of improbably named characters (Tinchy Stryder, Wiley, Chipmunk) from his fertile home turf in east London. Throughout his giddy ascent from a Bow council estate, Mills has remained inimitably himself. Whether sparring with Jeremy Paxman (who memorably addressed him as Mr Rascal on Newsnight), telling fan Prince Harry that he should have punched him in the face for being cheeky, or dismissing a sour-faced Kate Moss for interrupting his interview at the GQ awards last week, he has sustained the unpredictable irreverence that earned him his nickname.

Tongue N’ Cheek displays all of the attention-grabbing musical and lyrical directness that has helped Mills become a crossover star. From the start of his career he plundered numerous styles, exploiting the harsh dynamics of rock and the sample culture of hip hop. On the new album, the euphoric synths and cheesy melodies of old-school rave on Holiday and Dirtee Cash, as well as on Bonkers, see him aiming squarely at daytime radio and the dance floor. Can’t Tek No More looks back to an older tradition of black British music with its anguished analysis of the impact of the recession set to blaring horns and a stomping reggae beat.

Mills broke through in 2002 with I Luv U, a jarring account of dysfunctional teenage relationships that received critical acclaim but barely troubled the charts. On Tongue N’ Cheek, seven years later, he’s in party mood, ready to celebrate the leisure society and its hedonistic culture of cash and consumerism. His pop-star status suggests that, now, the rest of the country wants to join him.