People often link grime with other things, like street culture, and clashing, and MC battles and whatnot. But no one's ever talked in misogyny in grime. That's often linked to hip-hop, I know people talk about that is a problem in hip-hop. But not grime.
— Stormzy
My older sister was into grime, so she got me into it. When I was ten, I begged her to take me to my first house party, where there were decks and a mic. I ended up falling asleep standing up in the corner.
I love Frank Ocean. For me, 'Channel Orange' is the best LP ever. I love his voice, the songwriting, everything.
What I'm doing is British. It stems from the same culture as U.S. hip-hop, but the way we dress, the way we speak, the way we perform is so different. It's U.K. street culture.
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.
Bands like Little Mix do represent youth culture because loads of 16 year old girls listen to them.
Britain is not just One Direction, Little Mix, and James Bay. There's Skepta killing it, there's Krept and Konan killing it.
It's mad to think I was just a kid from south London, rapping in parks with friends.
I just feel like there is nothing I cannot do.
My mum's always had big aspirations because I'm an academic. I always got good grades at school. GCSEs were just a breeze for me.
People always meet me and go, 'You're so much cooler than I thought you'd be,' and I'm like, 'What did you expect me to be like?'
I need to just make as much noise and bang on as many doors as possible 'til men are, like, giving you the recognition.
Wiley has given me wise words a few times.
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.
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.'
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.
My core is grime. But I make all kinds of music. Take Picasso. He could paint whatever way he liked. He could do a little ting with a felt tip if he wanted to - it's still going to be a bad boy Picasso at the end.
I'm not mad into raving, to be honest. If it's not music, I'm chilling. But most of the time, it's music.
I would love to say I grew up on 2Pac and The Beatles, but I didn't.
In British music, you have indie, rock... Grime is now one of those pillars. It's a foundation of British music.
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.'
Most middle-aged white men probably don't know about little old Stormzy from London.
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.
I was good at most subjects at school. Looking back, I was a proper boffin! Now, the thing I'm really good at is poker.
I read so many books when I was a kid that I didn't even know were shaping me up.
It was my dream to come to Oxford and study political science.
It's not always about convincing your parents of what you want to do, but just saying, 'This is what I'm doing; this is what I love.'
Even if you don't like me, you know me because I'm just in your face.
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.
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!
My approach is just fearless. I'm not afraid to try anything.
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.
I'm a completely fearless musician.
If I'm not working on music, I'm usually with my friends playing FIFA. We just kick back - I'm proper chilled.
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.
I like flipping Coldplay. And I like Jessie Ware. But I'm sure how we grew up was totally different.
There are thousands of people outside the O2 queuing up to see people like Skepta and JME.
Grime is still quite new. You can't expect national radio and national media to get it straight away.
I know a lot of grime artists started off on pirate radio, but I missed that era; I was way too young.
Every single thing that I was told that I couldn't do without a label - get in the charts, get on to the Radio 1 playlist - I've done.
You read a book, write a detailed review as proof you've read it, and they give you a badge. That's where my competitive nature came out. Give me the badges! I would sit in the library all day, not 'cos I loved reading, just because I needed those badges.
Our parents don't always know what's right. It's a new age.
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.
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.
Engineering was the safe and sensible choice, but music was what I loved and wanted to do.
I'm a bit crazy, so sometimes I just get these mad ideas that, on paper, aren't even possible.
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.
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.
