STORMZY

Stormzy, born Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. on 26 July 1993, is an English rapper, singer, and songwriter. He gained recognition in 2014 through his Wicked Skengman series of freestyles over grime beats. His song "Shut Up," initially released as a YouTube freestyle, reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart after a campaign to secure Christmas number one. Stormzy received the Best Grime Act award at the MOBO Awards in 2014 and 2015 and was listed in the BBC's Sound of 2015. His debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer (2017), was the first grime album to top the UK Albums Chart and won British Album of the Year at the 2018 Brit Awards. In 2019, he achieved his first UK number-one single with "Vossi Bop" and became the first British rapper to headline the Glastonbury Festival, where he wore a UK-stab vest designed by Banksy in response to knife crime in London. His second album, Heavy Is the Head, was released on 13 December 2019.