If there’s a leader of the recent wave of U.K. rap stars, it’s Stormzy. He’s enjoyed three U.K. #1 albums and was the first Black British solo artist to headline Glastonbury. His star has risen beyond the U.K., meanwhile, for alliances with Jay-Z, Adele, Billie Eilish and Burna Boy.

Buoyed by 5b streams, Stormzy has lent the luster of his brand to worthy causes, which include two scholarships for Black students at the University of Cambridge and a publishing imprint and writer’s prize for underrepresented writers.

The above has been achieved in little more than five years. As Alec Boateng, co-president of the rapper’s label, 0207 Def Jam, notes, “Stormzy has become important, influential, respected and hugely successful all before the age of 30.”

As far as what’s next, he ventures: “I think he’ll be able to apply his talents to other creative fields―in all the ways stars have traditionally been able to continually shine bright―to make deeper-rooted cultural connections and push cultural boundaries while maintaining a huge musical impact.”

In the U.S., Stormzy is signed to Interscope, which has helped lay the groundwork for what may have been his most personal album yet, 2022’s This Is What I Mean, which builds on his grime roots and spans Afrobeats, soul and R&B.

The campaign supporting his well-received third set encompasses further activity stateside, including an as-yet-unscheduled tour.

“Interscope is super-keen to have him in market because it’s in person that he really shines,” Boateng adds. “We’re all looking forward to getting Stormzy in deeper with [label head] John Janick, [EVP co-Head of A&R] Nicole [Wyskoarko], [Director of Urban Marketing] Lauren [Gaspard] and the rest of the team. They have been full of brilliant ideas for him.”

According to the 0207 Def Jam co-head, Stormzy’s “brand power” has helped him “bypass some of the cultural-nuance challenges that accompany Black British music” outside the U.K. He also credits British rap peers like Dave and Central Cee and “the international success and youth-culture connection of shows like Top Boy,” which features U.K. rappers, with having “given the world an extra layer of understanding of the cultural touchstones Stormzy proudly
carries with him.”

The stage is thus set, Boateng promises, for Stormzy “to take on the world whenever the right moment comes along, which it will!”

STATS

Streams: 5b

Charts: Three #1 albums

Live: Global festival headliner

TEAM

Management: Tobe Onwuka, #Merky

Label: 0207 Def Jam U.K./Interscope U.S.

Publisher: Amber Davis, Shani Gonzales,

Warner Chappell Music

Agent: Lucy Dickins, Whitney Boateng, WME