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In April 2016, Stormzy released the non-album song "Scary" before he went into hiatus.
After a year's hiatus from social media, Stormzy returned in early February 2017 via a series of billboard campaigns across London displaying the hashtag ''#GSAP 24.02''. The album title was announced to be '' Gang Signs & Prayer''. The album was released on 24 February 2017 and debuted at number one on the
, he said: "Black people have been playing on an uneven field for far too long and this pledge is a continuation in the fight to finally try and even it".
Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' series of freestyles over classic
's Sound of 2015 list. His debut album, '' Gang Signs & Prayer'' (2017), was the first grime
Grime may refer to:
* Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust
* Grime (music genre), a genre of music
* ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity
* ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game
* "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...
beats.
Stormzy's song "Shut Up
Shut may refer to:
*Yana Shut (born 1997), Belarusian snooker and pool player.
* ''Shut'' (1988 film), directed by Andrei Andreyevich Eshpai.
* ''Shut'' (2009 film), starring Lee Baxter.
* ''Shut'' or ''šwt'', "shadow", an Ancient Egyptian conce ...
", which was initially released as a freestyle on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
, became popular and peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
after he launched a campaign to reach Christmas number one
In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...
. Stormzy won Best Grime Act at the 2014 and 2015 MOBO Awards
The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...
and was named as an artist to look out for in the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...grime
Grime may refer to:
* Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust
* Grime (music genre), a genre of music
* ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity
* ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game
* "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...
album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
and won British Album of the Year at the 2018 Brit Awards
Brit Awards 2018 was the 38th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music show, the Brit Awards. It was held on the 21st February 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, with Jack Whitehall as the host. The Brit Award statuette desig ...
. In 2019, Stormzy achieved his first UK number-one single with " Vossi Bop" and his headline appearance at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival was widely praised; he wore a Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
stab vest designed by Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigram ...
, in light of the rise in knife crime in London. His second album, '' Heavy Is the Head'', was released on 13 December 2019. On 22 September 2022, Stormzy released the single "Mel Made Me Do It
"Mel Made Me Do It" is a song by English rapper Stormzy, released as a single on 23 September 2022 through 0207 Def Jam and #Merky. It contains guest appearances from Jamaican musician Stylo G and English actress Michaela Coel. The song, Stormzy' ...
" accompanied by an 11-minute music video featuring popular artists, actors and sports figures such as Usain Bolt
Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.
An eight-ti ...
and José Mourinho. His third album, ''This Is What I Mean
''This Is What I Mean'' is the third studio album by British rapper Stormzy, released through #Merky and 0207 Def Jam on 25 November 2022. It follows Stormzy's 2019 album '' Heavy Is the Head'', and was preceded by the lead single "Hide & Seek" a ...
'', was released on Def Jam on 25 November 2022.
Early life
Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. was born on 26 July 1993 inCroydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
, London. His mother is Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
ian, his father was a taxi driver and he is a cousin of rapper Nadia Rose. He grew up in South Norwood
South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Wood ...
, London, with his mother, brother, and two sisters. Stormzy did not come from a particularly musical household, although he liked music. He attended Stanley Tech South Norwood. He began rapping at the age of 11 and would clash with older rappers at his local youth club.
Stormzy has said about his school years: "I was a very naughty child, on the verge of getting expelled, but I wasn't a bad child; everything I did was for my own entertainment. But when I went into an exam I did really well." He said he got six A*s, three As, and five Bs on his GCSEs, but then only achieved a "humbling" ABCDE on his A Level
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...
s: "For someone who would cuss in class and was on the verge of being expelled, it was A Levels that showed me that in life you need work ethic." He studied for an apprenticeship in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and worked in quality assurance for two years at an oil refinery in Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, Hampshire.
Music career
2014–2017: ''Dreamers Disease'' and ''Gang Signs & Prayer''
After garnering attention on the UK underground music scene via his ''Wicked Skengman'' series of freestyles over classic grime beats, Stormzy released his debut EP ''Dreamers Disease'' independently in July 2014. On 22 October 2014, Stormzy won Best Grime Act at theMOBO Awards
The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...
. Later that month he became the first unsigned rapper to appear on '' Later... with Jools Holland'', performing the song "Not That Deep" from ''Dreamers Disease''.
In November 2014, Stormzy collaborated with rapper Chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...
and Shalo on the track "I'm Fine", also appearing in a video for the song.
On 7 January 2015, Stormzy was number 3 in the "BBC Introducing top 5" on Radio 1. In March 2015 he released the single "Know Me From
"Know Me From" is a grime track by Stormzy, released independently on 8 March 2015. The song peaked at number 49 on the UK Singles Chart.
Background and release
The instrumental used for "Know Me From" is called "Ninja" by Zdot. This was also use ...
", which entered the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
at number 49. In September 2015, he released a final instalment to his "WickedSkengMan" freestyle series, "WickedSkengMan 4", onto iTunes, along with a studio version of his "Shut Up" freestyle over XTC's ''Functions on the Low'' instrumental. The track debuted at number 18 on the UK chart dated 24 September, becoming Stormzy's first top 40 hit and the first ever freestyle to reach the top 40 in the United Kingdom.
On 12 December 2015, Stormzy performed "Shut Up
Shut may refer to:
*Yana Shut (born 1997), Belarusian snooker and pool player.
* ''Shut'' (1988 film), directed by Andrei Andreyevich Eshpai.
* ''Shut'' (2009 film), starring Lee Baxter.
* ''Shut'' or ''šwt'', "shadow", an Ancient Egyptian conce ...
" during British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua's ring-walk for his fight versus Dillian Whyte
Dillian Whyte (; born 11 April 1988) is a British professional boxer. He has formerly competed as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He held the WBC interim heavyweight title twice, between 2019 and 2020, and again from 2021 to April 2022 ...
. Originally, "Shut Up", released as part of the "WickedSkengMan 4" single EP in September 2015, charted at number 59. Since the performance, it began climbing up the iTunes chart and into the top 40. As a result, Stormzy launched a Christmas number 1 campaign to get the song to number 1. It generated a large amount of support, which made it enter the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
on 18 December 2015 at number 8, a week prior to the Christmas number-1 week, succeeding the chart position of "WickedSkengMan 4".
2018–2021: Glastonbury and ''Heavy Is the Head''
In April 2016, Stormzy released the non-album song "Scary" before he went into hiatus.
After a year's hiatus from social media, Stormzy returned in early February 2017 via a series of billboard campaigns across London displaying the hashtag ''#GSAP 24.02''. The album title was announced to be '' Gang Signs & Prayer''. The album was released on 24 February 2017 and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
on 3 March 2017.Peaks in the United Kingdom:
* For all except noted:
* For "Scary":
* For "Hear Dis":
Stormzy's headline appearance on the Pyramid Stage at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival was widely praised. The performance featured a speech by the politician David Lammy that discussed the proportion of black and minority ethnic people in the British criminal justice system and, during " Vossi Bop", Stormzy encouraged the audience to join him in chanting "Fuck the Government and fuck Boris" - the latter a reference to former London Mayor Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
's Conservative Party leadership campaign. The show included guest appearances by dance group Black Ballet and pop singer Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Uni ...
. Stormzy wore a Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
stab vest designed by the artist Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigram ...
, which was widely perceived as a comment on the rise in knife crime in London.
He has reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
four times; firstly as part of "Artists for Grenfell" on 23 June 2017 with " Bridge Over Troubled Water", secondly with his own solo single " Vossi Bop", which debuted at number one upon its entry, ahead of " Me!" by Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
featuring Brendon Urie
Brendon Boyd Urie (born April 12, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist of Panic! at the Disco, of which he is the only remaining member.
In ...
by some 500 combined sales, thirdly with his collaboration with Burna Boy
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album, ''L.I. ...
and Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...
, " Own It" and fourthly with as a featured artist on the Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...
single "Take Me Back to London
"Take Me Back to London" is a song by British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran featuring British rapper Stormzy. It was released through Asylum and Atlantic Records as the final single from the former's compilation album '' No.6 Collaborations Proj ...
". Stormzy later released the singles "Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
", "Sounds of the Skeng
"Sounds of the Skeng" is a song by English rapper Stormzy, released on 6 September 2019.
Promotion
Stormzy revealed the song on 29 August 2019, posting a picture with the caption "You lot think you're fucking funny yeah kool 🥊 6/9/19 #SoundsOfT ...
" and " Wiley Flow", before announcing his second album, '' Heavy Is the Head'', for release on 13 December 2019. In the 2020 action-adventure game '' Watch Dogs: Legion'', Stormzy appears as a fictionalized version of himself, offering a mission in which his character plays the track "Rainfall" from ''Heavy is the Head.'' The video for ''Rainfall'' appears in the mission, showing Stormzy's motion capture performance over locations, graphics, and the fictionalized future London setting of the game. Stormzy was recognised for both his contributions to music and his activism, landing him at number 5 in the Top 10 of the annual Powerlist
The ''Powerlist'' is a list of the 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom. The list is updated annually and has been published in book format by Powerful Media since 2007. The ''Powerlist'' is ...
in 2020, with an estimated net worth of £20 million in 2020. ''Heavy is the Head'' was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
2020. This was the second nomination in his career. In the '' Powerlist 2021'' he ranked as the third most influential Black Briton, for his advocacy against racial injustice and philanthropy, pledging £10 million to charities
2022–present: ''This Is What I Mean''
Stormzy released the single "Mel Made Me Do It
"Mel Made Me Do It" is a song by English rapper Stormzy, released as a single on 23 September 2022 through 0207 Def Jam and #Merky. It contains guest appearances from Jamaican musician Stylo G and English actress Michaela Coel. The song, Stormzy' ...
" on 23 September 2022, his first solo single since 2020. Its music video included a variety of cameos from Usain Bolt
Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.
An eight-ti ...
and Louis Theroux
Louis Sebastian Theroux (; born 20 May 1970) is a British-American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received two British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award.
After graduating fro ...
, among others. He returned to social media on 12 October 2022 to announce his third album ''This Is What I Mean
''This Is What I Mean'' is the third studio album by British rapper Stormzy, released through #Merky and 0207 Def Jam on 25 November 2022. It follows Stormzy's 2019 album '' Heavy Is the Head'', and was preceded by the lead single "Hide & Seek" a ...
'', which was recorded on Osea Island in England. It was released on 25 November 2022. The first single was titled "Hide & Seek" on 14 October 2022.
Style
Stormzy describes himself as "a child of grime" influenced by the likes ofLethal Bizzle
Maxwell Owusu Ansah (born 14 September 1984), known by his stage name Lethal Bizzle, is a British rapper from Walthamstow, London, of Ghanaian origin. He emerged in 2002 as a grime MC as part of More Fire Crew, with their grime single "Oi!" ch ...
, Bruza
Shaun Barker, known by the stage name Bruza, is a British grime MC and rapper from Walthamstow, East London.
Music career
He started his career in 1992 as a member of pop/R&B boy band Chaos who were discovered by Simon Cowell, later becom ...
, D Double E and Flirta D, but also cites R&B singers such as Frank Ocean
Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...
and Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...
as influences on his sound.
Political activism
In May 2016, Stormzy endorsed Labour Party leaderJeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
. In an interview with the newspaper ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', he spoke of his admiration for Corbyn's activism.
On 24 June 2017, Stormzy performed a chant of "Oh, Jeremy Corbyn" to the tune of The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wit ...
' "Seven Nation Army
"Seven Nation Army" is a song by American rock duo the White Stripes. It is the opening track on their fourth studio album, ''Elephant'' (2003). V2 Records released the song to American alternative radio on February 17, 2003, as the lead single ...
" on the Other Stage at the Glastonbury Festival. He also performed a rap he had written for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, telling the festivalgoers to demand that the authorities "tell the... truth" and for the "Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
to be held accountable". In September of that year, after being presented with the Solo Artist of the Year award by Corbyn at the '' GQ'' Men of the Year Awards, Stormzy called Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...
a " paigon", a Jamaican Patois
Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora. A majority of the non-English ...
word used to describe an untrustworthy person.
On 21 February 2018, Stormzy performed a freestyle at the Brit Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
, calling out May for her inaction in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire the previous year. The following day, 10 Downing Street issued a statement defending the Prime Minister.
In November 2019, along with other musicians, Stormzy endorsed Corbyn in the 2019 UK general election with a call to end austerity. He also said "people led change can be possible under a Jeremy Corbyn Labour government". He described the Labour leader as "the first man in a position of power who is committed to giving the power back to the people" and branded Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
"a sinister man". In the aftermath of the George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internat ...
, Stormzy issued a statement via his label, stating that he plans to donate £1 million a year for 10 years to charities, organisations and movements that are committed to fight racial inequality
Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...
, justice reform and black empowerment in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. In an interview with the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Personal life
Stormzy is a Christian. On the BBC'sChristmas Day
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
lineup in 2019 he read a passage from the Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
. Stormzy was previously involved in a long-term relationship with presenter Maya Jama
Maya Indea Jama (, ; born 14 August 1994) is an English television, radio presenter, and DJ. She co-presented BBC One's '' Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer'' alongside Peter Crouch and Alex Horne and is presenter of the BBC Three competition '' ...
.
Controversy
In November 2017, it was revealed that Stormzy had posted a series of messages onTwitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
in 2011 that were deemed to be homophobic. These included a tweet in which he referred to a gay character on the soap opera '' EastEnders'' as a "fucking fag". He also asked another user who was discussing using hair straighteners if they were a "fag" and urged his followers to "put on BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
this little black boy is a fucking fag". He later posted a series of tweets, stating:
He also attracted controversy on 7 October 2020, when grime artist Chip released a video of Stormzy and several others at Chip's house in June of that year. The video was posted on Twitter and Instagram captioned: "June... When you get sent a video of Stormzy & friends tryna run up on your house." The event resulted in the police being called. Chip deleted the video within a few hours, but Stormzy was criticized for causing a heated argument with Chip's family and refusing to leave the building. The altercation was allegedly in response to a perceived diss by Chip on the track "Waze".
Scholarships
Stormzy has funded the "Stormzy Scholarship for Black UK Students" at theUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
, covering tuition costs for two students and maintenance grants for up to four years. He had previously approached the University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
who "didn't want to get involved", according to him.
Publishing imprint
In July 2018 it was announced that thePenguin Random House
Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House.
On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...
division William Heinemann was to launch a new publishing imprint in partnership with Stormzy, called #Merky Books. The imprint launched with Stormzy's first book, ''Rise Up'', in autumn 2018, followed by '' Taking Up Space: The Black Girl's Manifesto for Change'' by Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi in summer 2019. ''That Reminds Me'', a novel in verse by Derek Owusu, was released in November 2019. In October 2021, #Merky Books released ''Keisha the Sket Keisha () is a female given name of Hebrew language, Hebrew origin, from Keziah (name), Keziah. It is considered to be an African-American names, African-American name in the United States. There may refer to:
Notable people Keisha
* Keisha Buc ...
'', a viral serialised novel from the mid-2000s written by a Black London teenager in text-speak slang; the print publication includes both the original and a rewrite in standard English. An annual #Merky Books New Writers' Prize is awarded to "young, underrepresented, and unpublished writers from across the UK and ROI" who are "telling the stories that are not being heard, and the stories that deserve to be read, across fiction, non-fiction or poetry." An inaugural winner of the prize, Hafsa Zayyan's ''We Are All Birds of Uganda'' was published in 2021 by #Merky Books, and was shortlisted for the 2022 Glass Bell Award.
Awards
Discography
Studio albums *'' Gang Signs & Prayer'' (2017) *'' Heavy Is the Head'' (2019) *''This Is What I Mean
''This Is What I Mean'' is the third studio album by British rapper Stormzy, released through #Merky and 0207 Def Jam on 25 November 2022. It follows Stormzy's 2019 album '' Heavy Is the Head'', and was preceded by the lead single "Hide & Seek" a ...
'' (2022)
Tours
* Gang Signs & Prayers Tour (2017) * Heavy is the Head Tour (2020–2022)References
External links
* * {{Authority control 1993 births Living people 21st-century English singers 21st-century British male singers Black British male rappers Brit Award winners English people of Ghanaian descent Grime music artists Labour Party (UK) people People from Croydon Rappers from London Remixers English Christians Gospel musicians