Page 3 Profile: Dappy, rapper

What an unfortunate name

Not his real name, of course. Costadinos Contostavlos, better known as Dappy, is a rapper in the hip-hop trio N-Dubz. The group's most famous member, the X Factor judge Tulisa, is perceived to have an attitude problem – but in comparison to her band mates she is something of a saint.

I find that hard to believe

Yesterday, there were fears her cousin Dappy could face jail after he was found guilty of assault and affray. The 25-year-old started a fight outside a petrol station 11 months ago after he was "disrespected" by two women. He began arguing with the 19-year-old girls after they "dissed" him and called him boring. When a man stepped in, Dappy spat at him, a jury at Guildford Crown Court found. A co-defendant was also convicted of affray. They return for sentencing in four weeks; Dappy could face three years in jail for affray and six months for assault by beating.

A wake-up call?

It's hard to argue that Dappy's behaviour has done anything but help his career. He was criticised in 2010 after a Radio 1 listener texted in to call him "a little boy with a silly hat", and he texted her back with death threats. Later, he was caught taking the (then) legal high mephedrone. He said: "You know you have to try things to understand that they're bad," leading Tulisa to interject: "Not always." Despite this, he has since scored a No 1 solo single and Top 10 album. He showed little contrition as he left court. "Not guilty For spitting at the Females but Guilty for defending my self from the 3 Males!!!!" he Tweeted, adding the hashtag: "ThisAintRight."