What Is Stormzy's Net Worth?
Stormzy is a British rapper, singer, songwriter, and author who has a net worth of $25 million. Stormzy is known for being one of the most popular UK rappers. He has released the albums "Gang Signs & Prayer" (2017), "Heavy Is the Head" (2019), and "This Is What I Mean" (2022), which all reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart. Stormzy is known for hit singles such as "Big for Your Boots," "Blinded by Your Grace, Pt. 2" (featuring MNEK), "Vossi Bop," "Crown," "Own It" (featuring Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy), "Audacity" (featuring Headie One), "Hide & Seek," and "Firebabe." He launched the publishing imprint #Merky Books with Penguin Random House's William Heinemann division, which published his book "Rise Up: The #Merky Story So Far" in 2019. He also set up a scholarship at University of Cambridge, the Stormzy Scholarship for Black UK Students.
Early Life
Stormzy was born Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. on July 26, 1993, in Croydon, London. He grew up with his Ghanaian mother and three siblings in South Norwood, and his father worked as a taxi driver. Stormzy studied at Stanley Tech South Norwood, and he started rapping when he was 11 years old. During a 2016 Q&A with students at the Oxford Guild, he said of his youth, "I was a very naughty child, on the verge of getting expelled, but I wasn't a bad child; everything I did was for my own entertainment. But when I went into an exam I did really well." Before beginning his music career, Stormzy worked at a Southampton oil refinery, where he had a job in quality assurance.
Career
Stormzy attracted attention on the underground music scene with his "Wicked Skengman" freestyles, which he performed over grime beats. In July 2014, he released the EP "Dreamers Disease," and later that year he was named Best Grime Act at the MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards. Stormzy released his debut album, "Gang Signs & Prayer," in February 2017, and it reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart, UK Independent Albums chart, UK R&B Albums chart, Australian Urban Albums chart, and Irish Albums chart. The album was certified Platinum in the U.K. and Gold in Denmark.
He had top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart with "Big for Your Boots" and "Blinded by Your Grace, Pt. 2," and both singles were certified 2× Platinum in the U.K. Stormzy followed his successful debut with 2019's "Heavy Is the Head," which went Platinum in the U.K. and Denmark and topped the UK Albums chart. The single "Vossi Bop" reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart and was certified 3× Platinum in three U.K. and Australia. The single reached the top 10 on the charts in the U.K. and Ireland.
Stormzy's third album, 2022's "This Is What I Mean," reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart, UK Album Downloads chart, and UK R&B Albums chart. The album featured two tracks that were top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart, "Hide & Seek" and "Firebabe."
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Personal Life
From 2014 to 2019, Stormzy was in a relationship with Maya Jama, a DJ and television presenter. They have reportedly reconciled as of August 2023. Stormzy has been open about his faith, and a 2017 article in "Premier Christianity" referred to him as "the chart-topping rapper who wears his faith on his sleeve." In 2019, he read a passage from the Bible on BBC One's Christmas Day line-up.
In late 2017, it was reported that Stormzy had posted homophobic tweets in 2011. He responded to the controversy on Twitter, writing:
"I said some foul and offensive things whilst tweeting years ago at a time when I was young and proudly ignorant. Very hurtful and discriminative views that I've unlearned as I've grown up and become a man. The comments I made were unacceptable and disgusting, full stop. Comments that I regret and to everyone I've offended, I am sorry, these are attitudes I've left in the past… I take responsibility for my mistakes and hope you can understand that my younger self doesn't reflect who I am today. Again, I'm sorry to everyone I've offended. To the LGBQT community and my supporters and friends, my deepest apologies."
In 2019, Stormzy endorsed Jeremy Corbyn, the then-leader of England's Labour Party in the UK general election, and he described Corbyn as "the first man in a position of power who is committed to giving the power back to the people." In response to the George Floyd protests in 2020, Stormzy promised to donate £1 million per year for a decade to "organisations, charities and movements that are committed to fighting racial inequality, justice reform and Black empowerment within the UK." In 2022, the University of Exeter presented him with an honorary doctorate for "his work to promote education and fighting racial inequality."
Awards and Nominations
Stormzy has won more than 30 awards, including three AIM Independent Music Awards, six MOBO Awards, and two Q Awards. He has earned five BET Award nominations, winning Best International Act: UK in 2015 and Best International Act: Europe in 2017. He won a BET Hip Hop Award for Best International Flow in 2020. Stormzy has been nominated for eight Brit Awards, taking home the prize for British Male Solo Artist in 2018 and 2020 and British Album of the Year for "Gang Signs & Prayer" in 2018. He won "GQ" Men of the Year Awards for Solo Artist of the Year in 2017 and 2019, and he received an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Worldwide Act in 2017. At the 2018 Ivor Novello Awards, Stormzy won the Album Award for "Gang Signs & Prayer" and earned a nomination for Best Contemporary Song for "Don't Cry For Me." That year he also received Global Awards for Best RnB, Hip Hop or Grime and Best Song for "Power" (with Little Mix).
