Stormzy Artistfacts

July 26, 1993
He was born Michael Omari Jr. in Croydon, South London to a Ghanaian mother, Ms. Abigail Owuo. Stormzy was raised by her with a brother and two sisters; he paid tribute to his mom on his 2017 track "100 Bags."
Stormzy began rapping 11, when he'd turn up to his youth club, Rap Academy, and grab the mic. He chose his performing name two years later: "I just thought, 'What's cool? A storm,'" he recalled to The Guardian.
Stormzy is naturally intelligent and did well in his GCSEs, gaining six A*s, three As, and five Bs. During a Q&A session with 300 students at the Oxford Guild, he said: "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."
After college, Stormzy worked as a project manager for two years at an oil refinery off the English South coast watching grime videos in his lunch break. It was a job he hated, and after realizing he wanted to try music, Stormzy quit.
Stormzy released his debut EP Dreamers Disease independently in July 2014 and won Best Grime Act a few months later at the MOBO awards. The following year, his single "WickedSkengMan 4" became the first ever freestyle to break into the UK Top 20.
Stormzy spent 2015 and 2016 building his creative team. In 2017, he released his debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer, which became the first album by a grime artist to top the UK albums chart, a feat he followed up by winning Best Album of the Year at the BRITs.
He dated TV show host Maya Jama from 2015 to 2019. Stormzy addressed their split on the heartfelt song "Lessons."
Stormzy is a regular churchgoer, attending the Word of Grace Ministries in Kennington. His 2017 track "Blinded By Your Grace, Pt. 1," reflects his faith as he sings about God's saving grace.
Stormzy detailed his writing rituals during his February 2023 Radio 2 Piano Room performance:

"I just kick everyone out the room. I tell everyone 'get out the room' and I just fiddle around with ideas. I don't have no eccentric ways to write. I just take it in my stride. I'm also not a thorough writer. I'm not like 'I need to finish this song today!'. I think you get there with maturity as an artist. You trust that 'I will finish this song today' because I'm a gifted writer, I'd like to believe. So I don't sit there and wrack my brain. I just take my time, eat some food, chill out and it all comes. And I pray and I let God do it as well."

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