Have you heard of Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Junior? Perhaps not — but you’ve probably heard his stage name, Stormzy. This English grime and hip-hop artist is quite well-recognized and has won several awards during his time in the scene.
For example, Stormzy recently pulled off two solid wins at the 2018 BRIT Awards — bringing home Best British Male Solo Artist and Best British Album. However, what has everyone talking is his excellent freestyle rap at the end of the ceremony. During the end, he used his power as a famous musician to call out Prime Minister Theresa May in the form of a freestyle rap regarding her actions after the Grenfell Tower Fire. For those who are not in the know, this was an occurrence that resulted in 71 deaths and many more injuries due to a lack of proper emergency response procedures.
Stormzy is a well-known musician in England and among anyone who is a fan of grime music. He is also an interesting person who is worth learning more about, especially as he comes to more prominence in the British and international music scenes. If you want to find out some facts about this artist, read on to learn about Five Things You Didn’t Know about Stormzy.
His Most Successful Song Started as a Freestyle
The most successful song that Stormzy has ever released is, without a doubt, a single called “Shut Up”. This song is a BPI Platinum seller and even charted at number eight on the overall UK Charts. Though it was eventually officially released, the song started off as a simple (but politically-charged) freestyle rap on Youtube. Now, it has over 73 million views and is known all across the United Kingdom (and, to some extent, the world).
His Debut Album Broke Barriers
Stormzy’s debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer, first came out in 2017. Almost immediately after its release, the album shot to #1 on the UK Charts. This marked the very first time that an independent label published a grime album that made it to the top position (though Tinie Tempah had topped the charts in 2010 with a grime EP released through Parlophone/EMI).
He Got Into a Lot of Trouble as a Child
This grime artist has admitted that he was a “naughty child” who liked to cuss in class and get into all sorts of trouble. However, he is careful to note that he never did it to be expressly “bad”, but rather for his own entertainment. Though he did nearly end up getting expelled from school due to his behavior, he always did quite well on exams.
His Cousin Is a Recognized Rapper
Nadia Rose — Stormzy’s cousin — has achieved considerable success in the music industry. She originally signed to Sony back in 2016 and was recognized on BBC’s Sound of 2017 list (a well-respected and coveted top-15 list of musical artists). She describes her music as “bassy, hard-hitting, dancehall, hip-hop infused fun”. Clearly, talent runs in this family.
He Started Rapping at the Age of Eleven
The first place that Stormzy went to practice his rap game was a local youth club called the Rap Academy. When he was there, he would ‘clash’ (i.e., freestyle about) with essentially anyone. He wasn’t afraid to take the mic and call out an entire crew through rap. This got him a lot of respect and helped hone his freestyling skills — no doubt helping him get to where he is today.
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