Dizzee Rascal sat with Pharrell Williams on Beats 1 for a lengthy chat – and while Pharrell said they’d never normally discuss politics on the show he couldn’t help but ask Dizzee’s opinion on Britain leaving the European Union.

“I’ve been careful not to be too opinionated on it because every time I’ve asked a question, on whatever side, I’ve learned something I didn’t know,” Dizzee said. “And every time something like this comes up it just makes me think ‘rah, I don’t know as much as I think I do.”

Pharrell went on to share his opinion on Brexit, and eventually Donald Trump, saying: “Someone can always find a reason that you can kind of understand, when they feel like they need to step back. But I hate divisiveness.

“It’s always been in our country but now it’s been given a voice. It’s like they’re coming out of the woodwork, people who want that. In my brain I’m like, ‘you keep thinking you want to be by yourself, but no you don’t. You listen to our music, you wear our clothes, you go to see our films, you go to the people’s shows… you can’t say you really want to be by yourself. You’re entertained by everything the creative people do.’

“You can’t stay close to creativity by being divisive. In fact creativity is the gathering of thoughts and ideas and concepts… you can’t tell me that you just want a life of stagnancy. You can’t tell me that you just want to be isolated like a pool of algae. That all you want to do is sit in a stagnant puddle of algae.”

Pharrell Williams performing at the British Summer Time festival in Hyde Park
(David Jensen/PA)

Dizzee, for his part, doesn’t think much has changed: “How did these nations (Britain and America) get started? Raping and pillaging. That’s what it is. That’s what it’s always been.

“What I try and do is find something in common with people. That’s the best way to get on in life.”

The East London native wraps it up by suggesting he might have felt differently 15 years ago. “My whole album (Boy in Da Corner) was about feeling outcasted and having all this angst and rage. But then I got embraced by the world.”

Catch the rest of their conversation on Pharrell’s OTHERtone show here.