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Stormzy
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Stormzy, real name Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter. He was born in 1993 in Thornton Heath, a suburb of Croydon in south London, to a Ghanaian mother, and grew up in South Norwood. He started rapping at eleven and took on older rappers at his youth centre. Before his breakthrough he worked for two years in quality control at an oil refinery in Southampton.
Music and breakthrough
In 2012 he made his mark on the British underground scene with his series of freestyles Wicked Skengman over classic grime beats. In 2014 he released the EP Dreamers Disease himself and won the MOBO Award for best grime act, which he won again in 2015. His freestyle Shut Up, recorded over an instrumental by XTC, reached the British top ten in 2015, after a campaign for the Christmas number 1. The debut album Gang Signs & Prayer from 2017 was the first grime album to top the British album chart and won a Brit Award. In 2019 he got his first number 1 with Vossi Bop and was the first British rapper to headline Glastonbury, wearing a stab-proof vest designed by Banksy. Heavy Is the Head in 2019 and This Is What I Mean in 2022 followed.
Influence
His music combines the hard, fast style of grime with singing and gospel-like moments. He showed that grime, a style from the streets of London, could reach a large audience.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
Mentioned in other articles
- Grime Genre
In 2003 Dizzee Rascal won the Mercury Prize with his debut Boy in da Corner, and later Skepta and Stormzy became big stars.