Stormzy
(born Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr: 26 July 1993)
Stormzy is a British rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene for his freestyle over classic grime beats.
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 Sound of 2015 list. His debut album, Gang Signs and Prayer (2017), was the first grime album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart and won British Album of the Year at the Brit Awards.
In 2019, Stormzy achieved his first UK number-one single with "Vossi Bop" and became the first black British rapper to headline at the Glastonbury Festival where he wore a Union Jack stab vest designed by Banksy, in light of the rise in knife crime in London.
Stormzy, who is a Christian, has funded the "Stormzy Scholarship for Black UK Students" at the University of Cambridge, covering tuition costs for two students and maintenance grants for up to four years. He had previously approached the University of Oxford who "didn't want to get involved", according to him. In 2022, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Exeter for his work to promote education and fighting racial inequality.