Stormzy: 27 Facts You Need To Know About The BRITs Nominated Rapper
Everything you need to know about Stormzy from Wiley beef to his BRIT Awards nominations.
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1. What is Stormzy's real name?
Stormzy's real name is Michael Omari.
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2. How tall is Stormzy? He is 6'5 in height (so yeah, he'll probably tower above you!)
Rapping in Wicked Skegman 4 "6'5" black guy, mad fly, put me up top Man down, everybody down when I buss shots"
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3. How old is Stormzy?
Stormzy is 29 years old and he was born on 26th July 1993. Picture: Instagram
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4. Who is Stormzy's ex-girlfriend?
Stormzy was in a high profile relationship with presenter Maya Jama for over four years until the couple split towards the end of 2019. Stormzy addressed the split in his song 'Lessons' on his album 'Heavy Is The Head', however the rapper has continuously deied cheating on Maya.
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5. Stormzy started off making road rap.
Stormzy started out as a road rap MC, rapping in a style closer to hip hop than grime. “When I started, everyone was a grime spitter... Everyone was just spitting grime, and then this UK rap scene came about,” he told Complex, “For a long time, though, I didn’t get the whole road rap thing. I thought it was too slow, and sounded too American. But I felt like I needed to adapt to it and I needed to jump on it because that’s what was happening."
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6. But his true love is for Grime music.
He spits over classic grime instrumentals in his Wicked Skengman YouTube series. “I made the Wicked Skengman series. I don’t wanna sound selfish but they weren’t really for the audience; it was purely for my enjoyment," he admitted in an interview, "I loved grime, and I still wanted to do it—I was still sick on it.”
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7. Stormzy doesn't just rap, he sings too.
As Stormzy has demonstrated plenty of times, including on his recent album 'Heavy Is The Head', he's a great singer as well as a super-talented rapper.
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8. Stormzy got 6 A* GCSE's
Speaking about his school days, he claims he was 'a bit of a boffin' at school. Prior to giving his speech at Oxford University, he said his teachers were backing him to go to the prestigious university.
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9. Stormzy has many nicknames.
Big Mike, The Problem, Stiff Chocolate and Wicked Skengman to name a few. “I think God puts names in my head, like, ‘Wicked Skengman’, ‘Stiff-chocolate’, I dunno where they came from,” he told Livemag, “People are like: “What are they?” I’m like: “Bruv, I dunno. I’m as confused as you.”
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10. Stormzy headlined Glastonbury Festival in 2019
Wearing a Union Jack vest created by artist Banksy, Stormzy performed a stunning live set full of his hits as he headlined Glastonbury Festival for the first time. Stormzy was joined on stage by Coldplay's Chris Martin for an inconic duet during his set. Pic: Pa
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11. Stormzy's released his debut album 'Gang Signs & Prayers' on 23rd February 2017
Stormzy's debut album was one of the most popular releases of 2017 and helped the South London rapper shoot to mainstream attention. The release included tracks like 'Blinded By Your Grace' and 'Big For Your Boots'.
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12. Stormzy released his second album 'Heavy Is The Head' in 2019
'Heavy Is The Head' featured a number of huge hits including 'Vossi Bop', 'Crown' and 'Wiley Flow' and it topped the album's chart on its release. Pic: PA
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13. Stormzy has won two BRIT Awards so far...
Ahead of the 2020 BRIT Awards, Stormzy had previously won 'Best British Album and British Solo Male in 2018. At the 2020 awards ceremony, Stormzy is nominated for Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Male. Pic: PA
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14. Stormzy shot two videos for ‘Know Me From’.
The original video for 'Know Me From' was shot in HD and professionally edited. Stormzy scrapped it because he felt it was too polished and instead filmed the final video on a handheld. “I like having my friends in the videos, that’s more what I represent right now,” he explained in an interview, “You can see it all fall apart at the end, with the mandem just running out and having fun.”
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15. Stormzy held an intense Q&A session with 300 students in the Oxford Guild at Oxford University.
The grime artist spoke about The Brits, sexism in grime and of course his mum.
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16. Stormzy made his acting debut as Yardz in 'Brotherhood'.
'Brotherhood' is the final film in the 'Kidulthood' trilogy after 'Adulthood'
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17. Stormzy rose to fame on YouTube.
He’s been making videos on his YouTube channel since 2011 but it wasn’t until he started sharing his Wicked Skengman freestyles that he begun attracting much wider attention and plaudits.
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18. He’s a total Snapchat don.
Stormzy is a prolific Snapchatter. But don't try and send him any disses: “I’ll cus them back,” he warned when talking about his Snapchat abusers. You can add him at Stormzy1.
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19. Stormzy is the first artist to win the MOBO's newly introduced 'Best Grime Act' award.
He suited up for the occasion.
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20. The video of “8-Year-Old Stormzy” is not him.
Come on guys, it’s clearly not Stormzy. But the video does actually feature his mum.
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21. 'Shut Up' was the first freestyle to reach the charts.
Originally released online Stormzy released it as an official track in December 2015 after it reached 17 million views, taking on the Xfactor for the Christmas number 1. He then launched a Twitter campaign and 'Shut -Up' reached number 8 in the charts.
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22. He was the first unsigned rapper to perform on Later with Jools Holland.
The Grime MC performed his single 'Not That Deep' and smashed it!
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23. Stormzy's mum is his biggest fan! She even announced his first headline show.
She's also featured in his videos and went with him to Oxford University to watch his Q&A.
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24. What is Stormzy's religion?
Although Stormzy has never openly addressed his actual religion, the Grime MC has consistently expressed his faith and spirituality throughout his music. The rapper frequently makes references to God and received major chart success from his single 'Blinded By Your Grace Pt. 2', which is an ode to his religious side. Some fans claim Stormzy is Christian. Picture: PA
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25. Is Stormzy married?
Despite his previous long-term relationship with presenter Maya Jama, Stormzy has never been married. Following his split from Jama, Big Mike has yet to be involved in a public relationship. Picture: Getty
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26. What is Stormzy's net worth?
According to The Sunday Times, Stormzy's net worth is £16 million as of 2019. Picture: Getty