King Stormzy Live From L.A.

The great ones only emerge every so often, every few years. Without getting into infographics or flow charts, its apparent that truly great MCs are few and far between, whether they make it or not is another enigma in itself.

The grind, the struggle, the fight to be heard is both relentless and unforgiving. Like any champion, Mcs have to over come adversity and win the hearts and minds of the people. They make the necessary sacrifices to secure their dreams, they overcome adversity to perform for the crowds with only blind faith and a couple of day 1’s to accompany them on their journey.

Stormzy is in the midst of his own fight right now. He’s climbing his mountain and doing it very well, in ways that haven’t been done before. In order to establish himself as a pivotal artist and achieve his goals Stormzy is opening doors that weren’t open before, he’s experimenting with different ways of doing things that other artists haven’t done yet. None of this would be be possible if it wasn’t for the depth of his artistry.

Stormzy is a brutal, razor sharp, savage lyricist that can put anybody in their place within a bar or two, but he is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet. The first interview I ever did with him was dope, he had a lot to talk about and he was incredibly confident and articulate back then. He’s got a warm soul, he’s emerged into one of the leading voices of the youth who will invoke some kind of change. I don’t know what, I don’t know how, he is much more than just a Grime MC, he represents much more than just an artist.

Within a couple of years he is already an award winning entrepreneur, artist, and voice of the youth across the UK. He is a critically acclaimed wordsmith who epitomises success even though he has so much further to go, so much more to achieve. Everything that he does inspires. He is a role model who attracts opportunities and good will.

Almost 2 years after he appeared on my show when he dropped his debut EP, it was a very surreal experience to see Stormzy live on stage, tearing down a show in West Hollywood, L.A. with ease. I caught up with him after the show backstage and we talked about his journey so far, the forth-coming album, the impact of Grime in the US, and a lot more.

Back in 2014 when Stormzy was coming through Julie Adenuga tweeted “When Stormzy wins, we all win”. It definitely feels like everyone is winning right now.

Check out Stormzy on the ‘Hip-Hop Raised Me’ podcast.

Subscribe here for future episodes.

‘Hip Hop Raised Me’ the book will be out on October 6th 2016 via Thames & Hudson, and is available right now, right here.