Stormzy

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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