Born Michael Ebenezer Kwadwo Omari Owuo Jr, Stormzy, 26, is officially the UK’s richest Black Musician under 30.
This is according to the ‘Richest Musicians Under 30’ list for The Sunday Times released in May 2020!
Big Mikey is now in joint ninth place with Rita Ora—both in £20m. The South London star joins the likes of pop singer-songwriters Harry Styles, Little Mix, Dua Lipa, Sam Smith and his good friend, Ed Sheeran.
Stormzy’s appearance on the list comes as no surprise after the last year he’s had, with a No. 1 album (Heavy Is The Head), a No. 1 single (“Own It”), headlining Glastonbury and a worldwide tour.
The Sunday Times also revealed its ‘Richest Musicians In Britain’ list, which shows Ed Sheeran in again with a total fortune of £200m, and Rihanna—who now lives in London, making her eligible—in at £468m.
Brief Biography
Stormzy was born to Ghanaian Mother Abigail Owuo on 26th July 1993 in Croydon. He started rapping age 11 and would clash with older rappers at his local young center.
He grew up in South Norwood, London, with his mother, brother, and two sisters and did not come from a particularly musical household, though he liked music. He attended Harris Academy South Norwood.
Road to Fame
Stormzy In 2014 garnered attention on the UK underground music scene through his Wicked Skengman series of freestyles over classic grime beats. Stormzy’s “Shut Up”, which was initially released as a freestyle on YouTube, became popular and peaked number eight on the UK Singles Chart after he launched a campaign to reach Christmas number one.
Stormzy won Best Grime Act at the 2014 and 2015 MOBO Awards and was named as an artist to look out for in the BBC’s Sound of 2015 list. His debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer (2017), was the first grime album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart and won British Album of the Year at the 2018 Brit Awards.
In 2019, Stormzy achieved his first UK number-one single with “Vossi Bop” and his headline appearance at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival was widely praised; he wore a Union Jack stab vest designed by Banksy, in light of the rise in knife crime in London.His second album, Heavy Is the Head, was released on 13 December 2019.
