Stormzy on hitting 30, politics and the kids he sent to university: ‘When I see these guys, I’m like, just fly, fly, fly’
Stormzy saunters amiably into a west London photo studio in socks and grey sliders, soft black shorts and a white tank top. “Whatsup, everyone,” he says, nodding around solemnly at the scattering of people setting up the shoot. His team arrived a little while before, and immediately he’s drawn into conversation about an event, possibly his forthcoming 30th birthday party, more on which later. Someone (his team are not sure who) has been spreading invitations around. “Does Idris get a plus two?” a manager asks. “No.” “A plus one?” “Yeah.” He’s animated, speaking with his trademark booming voice.
“I’m a fuckin’ talker,” he tells me later, almost sheepish.
From the outside, it might seem as if Stormzy, otherwise known as Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr (or Big Mike), has never been afraid to use his voice. As his ascension to global superstardom has progressed, the musician has gone from grime trailblazer to a political figurehead for progressives and the Black British working class. His bars have icily laid waste to incompetent governments and the lack of Black history in the English education system (“Didn’t know we’re tryna implement our history through the schools,” he declared on My Presidents Are Black).
His most recent album, This Is What I Mean, released in 2022, refined his message with a new sense of maturity. A few tracks even had Stormzy crooning – his singing voice, which I hear on set, isn’t bad for a rapper – and it delighted in a diverse array of featured artists, from Sampha to India Arie. It was less a storm and more a serenade. “Usually when I’ve made albums – I say ‘made albums’ like I’ve got a 10-album catalogue, it’s just three – it’s always been a heavy process,” he says. “But after this one, and this is the first album I’ve truly made with God in the room, I had juice!”
He has recorded and released three new singles in the past few months: the theatrical Toxic Trait; , a juicy track about success and power, with a video that features a cameo from Tom Cruise; and , with fellow south Londoner Raye. And while so far this year he’s only scheduled to do one UK performance, it’s a big one: a takeover of London’s All Points East music festival in August, titled.
