Stormzy
| Stormzy | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael Omari |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | 26 July 1993 |
| Origin | Thornton Heath, London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2010–present |
Michael Omari (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", initially released as a freestyle to YouTube and later reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart after a campaign for it to reach Christmas number one.
Stormzy originates from Thornton Heath, London, and attended Harris Academy South Norwood. He began rapping at the age of 11 and would clash with older rappers at his local youth club. In school, he was excluded several times in Year 8 and was expelled in sixth form. 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.
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.
...
Wikipedia