When I’m good at something, I always try to be the best at it and claim that throne. Even in school, I never let anyone say anything to me; I would always be the smartest. – Stormzy
I’m on the rise and whatnot, but I’m not the man to say, ‘All right, world, here’s grime.’ It’s gonna take me, Skepta, JME, Novelist and Lethal Bizzle, to say, ‘I’m sick, he’s sick, he’s sick, he’s sick’. Not one man can do it. – Stormzy
I need to just make as much noise and bang on as many doors as possible ’til men are, like, giving you the recognition. – Stormzy
I don’t care if it’s a white millionaire kid from Oxfordshire who comes to my show, buys my record, supports me and rates me. It’s cool. – Stormzy
On the microphone, I’m not scared to step up and say, ‘This is my ability, this is how good I am.’ In other areas of life, I’m not so confident; I’m still adjusting to the photo shoots, all that stuff. But behind the mic, I’m fully confident. – Stormzy
I was doing without for so long, not knowing the things that are normal for musicians. I was getting bookings regardless, people phoning or emailing me direct, and journalists were writing about me anyway. – Stormzy
My mum was born and raised in Ghana and has a lot of Ghanaian values and traditions and morals. All that rubbed off on me, and that’s why I have a lot of love and good energy in me – that universal energy is a Ghanaian thing. – Stormzy
I don’t even think of it as a strategy. It’s me in my element; it’s my forte. Me being with all the mandem on the ends, spitting to an old school grime riddim, is me in my element; that’s when I feel I’m at my best. – Stormzy
I went to pick up my nephew from primary school, and one of the teachers there stopped me and said, ‘My son listens to you.’ That’s quite an awkward thing. – Stormzy
I know a lot of grime artists started off on pirate radio, but I missed that era; I was way too young. – Stormzy
Bands like Little Mix do represent youth culture because loads of 16 year old girls listen to them. – Stormzy
I was MCing in the playground, spitting lyrics over mobile phones – Sony Ericsson, Walkmans, W810s, the Teardrop Nokia phones, all of that. Vital equipment! I never even had a DJ set where a DJ’s playing vinyl, and I’m spitting. – Stormzy
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. – Stormzy
Grime is still quite new. You can’t expect national radio and national media to get it straight away. – Stormzy
I grew up in south London, and I remember watching the scene pop off in East and think, ‘Ahhhh, I would love to be in Bow E3 right now spitting wid Wiley and Dizzee.’ – Stormzy
The Americans have their way of talking, their way of dressing, their way of doing things, and we have ours. That’s why this whole U.K. underground thing has become sick, because everyone has finally said, ‘Yeah, yeah, Drake is sick – but hang on, we are too.’ – Stormzy
In school, all my teachers and my mum were super routing for me to study at Oxford. I picked music as a career choice, and this didn’t sit too well with them! – Stormzy
I grew up as a British kid – I went to school in London, roamed the streets of London – but having these interactions with my roots and going back to Ghana, I’m like, ‘Yeah this is sick.’ I love my country and my people, and the energy and vibes that they bring back. So I want to rep that and be a part of it. – Stormzy
Britain is not just One Direction, Little Mix, and James Bay. There’s Skepta killing it, there’s Krept and Konan killing it. – Stormzy
I’m a bit crazy, so sometimes I just get these mad ideas that, on paper, aren’t even possible. – Stormzy
