Who inspires you?  Stormzy

What kind of work do they produce?   Stormzy produces rap/ grime music.

Why do you like it? I like Stormzy’s music because I like the way he collaborates with artists, his distinctive voice, his edgy beats. He raps about interesting topics.

Can you share some examples of their work? (You could save photos, music or videos with your comments, or describe something that they’ve produced.) I love Stormzy’s song Blinded by your Grace  because he sings with a soft voice at the beginning. Then he raps, then a gospel choir joins in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPuj6UISMhs&feature=share

 Stormzy started becoming famous when he shared for grime tracks on YouTube called Wicked Skengman. https://youtu.be/DAYOklbLtXw
Where and how did they learn their arts skills? He began rapping at the age of 11 and would clash with older rappers at his local youth club.  In 2003 Channel U launched in the U.K. It was a satellite tv urban music channel. Stormzy and his friends watched a lot of it. They would download instrumentals to their phones and rap over the top. There was a place called Rap Academy near where he lived where he used to clash against other rappers.  He was rapping on the underground music scene before he released his debut album Dreamers disease in July 2014. October 2014 he won the Best Grime Act at the MOBO Awards. He headlined at Glastonbury music festival. He has been number one in the uk number one singles charts twice. His album Gangs Signs and Prayer.  Stormzy describes himself as a “child of grime”, influenced by Grime artists, but also R&B singers. 


How do they create their art work? What can you find out about their creative process? On his New Album Gang Signs & Prayer he makes some of his songs by mixing different sounds and styles. When he is annoyed about something it comes out via grime. When he has different emotions it comes out in different styles of music. ‘Technically, grime is defined by an MC “spitting” bars of 16 lines over 140 beats per minute’ (GQ Magazine 29 June 2017).



Who or what inspires them? Jay Z the American rapper  is a key inspiration for Stormzy. During his Glastonbury performance he mentioned the artists who paved the way for him, for example the rappers Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Kano, Chip, Skepta and Giggs.

What is it about this artist or their art work that really inspires you? I particularly like the song Blinded by your Grace because it makes feel as if I’m like one with God. He came from a difficult background and created his own success. 


Can you sum up in your own words what you’ve found out about your chosen arts inspiration?  Explain how you did your research too.   From a difficult background Stormy is now a world famous artist. He became famous through Grime but his recent album Gang Signs and Prayer shows that he is versatile as an artist.  I did my research on the internet from a variety of websites.

The Guardian newspaper said that Stormzy has announced he will donate £10 million pounds to Black British causes over the next 10 years.  BBC News beat said that Stormzy donated £9,000 to a student’s Harvard crowdfunding campaign.  Stormzy also launched Cambridge scholarship for black students. The Stormzy Scholarship will pay for tuition fees and provide a maintenance grant for up to four years of an undergraduate course.