Stormzy

From South London, Stormzy has taken the UK grime scene by storm: his 2017 debut album “Gang Signs & Prayer” was the first grime album ever to reach number one in the UK charts, and he managed to repeat this achievement in 2019 with his second album “Heavy Is The Head”. And while he was still publicly battling it out with Wiley, the “Godfather of Grime”, for the crown of the genre, Stormzy had long since become a pop star, named one of the most important personalities of his generation by Time magazine, the first British rapper to play the main stage at Glastonbury Festival and delivering hit after hit. On his latest album “This Is What I Mean”, released in 2022, the Londoner shows a quieter side, with harmonious piano sounds here, well placed strings there, a striking amount of vocals and completely sexism-free lyrics – an attitude that suits the rapper as well as his inimitable flows over fast drill beats.