STORMZY SAUNTERS AMIABLY into a west London photo studio. “Whatsup, everyone,” he says, nodding around solemnly at the scattering of people setting up the shoot. His team arrived a little earlier, and he’s drawn into conversation about an event, possibly his forthcoming 30th birthday party, more on which later. Someone has been spreading invitations around. 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 him crooning, and it delighted in a diverse array of featured artists, from Sampha to India Arie. It
