Name Michael Omari Birth name Michael Omari Years active 2010–present | Role Rap music artist Nationality British | |
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Also known as Stiff Chocolate, Wicked Skengman, Big Stormz Born 26 July 1993 (age 30) ( 1993-07-26 ) Albums Not That Deep EP, Dreamers Disease Awards BET Award for Best International Act: UK Similar People Lethal Bizzle, Chip, Ghetts, Wretch 32, Sneakbo Profiles | ||
Stormzy stormzy1 shut up
Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo, Jr. (born 26 July 1993), better known by his stage name Stormzy, is an English grime and hip hop artist. He won Best Grime Act at the 2014 and 2015 MOBO Awards and was named as an artist to look out for in the BBC's influential Sound of 2015 list. His most successful song to date is the BPI gold-selling "Shut Up", which was initially released as a freestyle on YouTube. The track was then officially released and got to number eight on the UK Singles Chart after Stormzy launched a campaign to reach Christmas number one.
Contents
- Stormzy stormzy1 shut up
- Kevin hart takes on stormzy in a rap off with ice cube
- Early life
- 201415 Dreamers Disease and Shut Up
- 2016present Gang Signs Prayer
- Upcoming world tours
- Style
- Politics
- Discography
- References
His debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer, was released on 24 February 2017 and was the first grime album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart.
Kevin hart takes on stormzy in a rap off with ice cube
Early life
Stormzy originates from Thornton Heath, London, and attended Harris Academy South Norwood. He is of Ghanaian descent. He began rapping at the age of 11 and would clash with older rappers at his local youth club. During a 2016 Q&A session at Oxford University, Stormzy 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 at GCSE, but then only achieved a "humbling" ABCDE at A-Level: "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." Before focusing on his music full-time, he studied for an apprenticeship in Leamington Spa and worked in quality assurance for two years at an oil refinery in Southampton. Stormzy is the cousin of BBC Sound of 2017 nominee Nadia Rose.
2014–15: Dreamers Disease and "Shut Up"
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, Stormzy 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 Dreamers Disease.
In November 2014, Stormzy collaborated with rapper Chip and Shalo on the track "I'm Fine", also appearing in a video for the song. The track is part of Chip's upcoming Believe & Achieve project.
On 7 January 2015, Stormzy came number 3 in 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. 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" during British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua's ring-walk for his fight versus Dillian Whyte. 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 on 18 December 2015 at number 8, a week prior to the Christmas number 1 week, succeeding the chart position of "WickedSkengMan 4". It has become Stormzy's highest-charting single.
2016–present: Gang Signs & Prayer
In April 2016 Stormzy dropped 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 on 3 March.
Upcoming world tours
As of March 2017 Stormzy is currently on tour. kicking off in Dublin in the Olympia Theatre and ending at Creamfields in Halton. During this tour Stormzy will play the world famous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Style
Stormzy describes himself as "a child of grime" influenced by the likes of Wiley and Skepta, but also cites R&B singers such as Frank Ocean and Lauryn Hill as influences on his sound.
Politics
In May 2016, Stormzy endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. He said: "My man, Jeremy! Young Jeremy, my guy. I dig what he says. I saw some sick picture of him from back in the day when he was campaigning about anti-apartheid and I thought: yeah, I like your energy." He added: "I feel like he gets what the ethnic minorities are going through and the homeless and the working class..."
Concordant with his support of minority groups and cultures, on 28 June 2017, Stormzy tweeted in Welsh.
In September 2017, after being presented with the Solo Artist of the Year award by Corbyn at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, Stormzy called Theresa May a "paigon", a word used to describe an untrustworthy person.
Discography
Studio albums