(AllHipHop News) With the success of Drake’s More Life playlist, many American fans are being introduced to the British music scene for the first time.
One of the standout acts to emerge from the U.K. bred Grime genre is Michael “Stormzy” Omari.
The award-winning artist spoke with Fader for a cover story, and Stormzy addressed the treatment of Grime artists in his home country.
“I’ve never understood this whole thing of there being this elite force in British music, but on the side is Grime and rap,” said the Gang Signs & Prayer album creator. “There’s at least five or six artists in that elite of American music. Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Jay Z will be there.”
He continued, “In this country, it’s not like that. I just question sh-t. I ask, Why can’t I get played on that radio station? ‘Oh, they can only play it in the evening.’ But there’s a clean version, why can’t they do daytime? They might say something about the tempo of the song, or the feel of the song. So when I’m getting in the charts, it’s [so I can] break all the walls down, and say, ‘OK, what are you gonna say now? Why can’t you play me?’”
Stormzy’s Gang Signs & Prayer was released in February to positive reviews.
The independent album became the first Grime project to open at #1 on the U.K. charts, and it set a new British record for the most first-week streams for a chart-topping LP.
