DID YOU KNOW??? Stormzy got six A*s, three As and five Bs at GSCE level. Clever clogs.
Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo, Jr., known better by his stage name Stormzy, is an English grime and hip hop artist. He originates from Croydon, Sloth London and is of Ghanaian descent. He started rping at the age of 11 and would clash with older rappers at his local youth club. A bright student at school but frequently in and put of trouble, music was a way for Stormzy to express himself and helped him steer clear of the gang culture that he grew up with and would see on a daily basis. After finishing his A-Levels, before focusing on music full time, Stormzy studied for an apprenticeship in Leamington Spa and worked in quality assurance for two years at an oil refinery in Southampton.
After garnering attention in the UK underground music scene via his “Wicked Skengman” series of freestyles over classic grime beats, Stormzy released his debut EP “Dreamers Disease” in July 2014. In October of that year her won ‘Best Grime Act’ at the MOBO Awards. Later that month he became the first unsigned rapper to appear on “Later with Jools Holland”, performing the song ” Not That Deep” from his debut album. In the beginning of 2015, Stormzy came number 3 on the BBC “Introducing Top 5” on Radio 1. In March 2015 he released the single “Know Me From”, which entered the UK Singles Chart at number 49. After releasing a studio version of his “Shut up” freestyle over XTC’s “Function on The Low” instrumental, the track reached number 18 on the UK chart in September 2015, becoming Stormzy’s first top 40 hit and the first ever freestyle to reach the top 40 in the UK.
This track was originally released as part of the “Wicked Skengman 4” EP but after performing the song during British Heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua’s ring-walk for his fight versus Dillian White, the track climbed up the iTunes Chart and entered the top 40. As a rezukt , Stormzy launched a “Christmas number 1” campaign to get the song to number 1. The track generated a large amount of support which made it enter the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart on 18th December 2015 at number 8, a week prior to the Christmas number 1 week and became Stormzy’s highway charting single. After a years hiatus from social media, Stormzy returned in February 2017 via a series of billboard campaigns across London displaying the hashtag #GSAP 24.02. The album title was named “Gang Signs & Prayer and debuted at number one the UK Albums Chart. He has since gone on to win numerous awards and most recently won 3 out of 5 MOBO Awardsthis year.
Article by Candice Eastman.
He discovered the gem when he was 12 years old and still has it now, claiming it to be why he fell in love with music. He likes to play disc golf when he's not writing about music. He is a one-of-a-kind individual who is always the first to bust out his air guitar on the dance-floor.