ONE is a geeky talk-show host, the other is a hip rapper.
Stormzy became a big fan when Louis Theroux met Stormzy for his new show. The streetwise rapper was so enthralled by him that he gave his whole heart to him.
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The chart-topper revealed all about his background, faith and how he has coped with becoming one of Britain’s biggest music stars.
Stormzy discusses the deep repercussions of his split with Maya Jama, the TV host in the new series Louis Theroux Interviews.
He said: “My break-up, that was probably the biggest catalyst for growth as a man.
“It was like, OK, you made a mistake and you lose someone you loved, someone you cared for, someone who is special to you.
“That’s probably the biggest loss a man can have, isn’t it? Away from someone passing away, that’s the biggest loss you can have.
“The whole f***ing palaver that surrounded that situation, do you know what I mean? There were other things in terms of mistakes I’d made.
“I didn’t do what a man should do to fully appreciate love, and care for his woman.”
Stormzy, 29, started dating Maya, 28 in 2016 at a time when neither one of them was famous. However, they split in 2020 over allegations that he was unfaithful.
He always denied any infidelity but admits in the documentary that he’d had to learn some hard lessons about his behaviour.
Stormzy told Louis: “Long story short, I learned that if I don’t want to feel like that again, and if I believe that God will bless me again with an amazing woman and a family and marriage and all of that kind of thing, I have to do all the necessary work to never be in that situation again.”
‘I want to get married and I want to settle’
Louis’s new series, which launches next week on BBC2, also includes interviews with other huge entertainment stars, including Oscar-winner Dame Judi Dench and singer Rita Ora.
Stormzy spoke with him in the midst of the numerous Brit and Mobo awards that cover his home in South West London. He bought it after launching his musical career eight years earlier.
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Star says he is renovating another home to move in after he finds a wife with whom to have children.
Stormzy said: “I do want a family of my own and I want to get married and I want to settle.
“My idea of an amazing future is having my house and kinda running around and my missus there.
“And we’re going to eat dinner at the dinner table.”
Stormzy, who was born in Croydon, South London admits that it is difficult to find a girlfriend. This may be partly due to the fact that he can’t bring himself to sign on for any dating apps.
He is concerned that fame and celebrity might make women less attracted to him, or worse, draw a woman who enjoys the spotlight more than he does.
He said: “The idea of meeting a girl and then just going to get some food — that’s alarm bells.
“Any time I’ve had a date we’ve got to go through a back door at the restaurant, otherwise people are going to blow up the poor girl’s life.
“People in the restaurant will want to try to film and I always say: The people I’m with, they don’t want that.
“I’m still trying to work out the solution. I’ll just wait for God to present me with my situation with my woman. I’m all out of ideas.”
‘I believe God will bless me again with an amazing woman and a family and marriage.’
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This urban music star has established himself as a mainstream musician with a memorable Glastonbury performance in summer 2019. He wore a bulletproof vest featuring Union Flag artwork by Banksy.
Then, in December that year, he released Heavy Is The Head which was a chart-topper and featured the No1 singles Vossi Bop & Own It.
In the documentary, self-confessed fan Louis, 52, meets Stormzy at a gig during his UK tour — and is surprised to find the rapper is just as starstruck by his interviewer.
They instantly hit it off, and Louis attempts to rap, sing and even dance like Stormzy — real name Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr.
Throughout their conversations, he refers to Mike even as Mike.
Louis is told by the platinum-selling star that overcoming lockdown has helped him personal growth.
However, the fame and pressures would often cause him to cry. This contributed to his lower profile in the last two years.
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Louis shows a completely different side of his new friend when he attends Christian worship sessions alongside him, wherein he meets both his deeply religious sister (and mother)
Stormzy sings along to the congregation, and he reveals that he holds Bible-reading sessions at his house regularly.
Abigail, his mother, said that he was always a precocious kid and described her son, who she conceived while on the Pill, to be a “amazing child.” “miracle”.
Stormzy clearly loves her partly because he was raised by her as a single parent after his father died and started a new family.
‘Friends I grew up with wouldn’t recognise me’
He admits to his long-standing resentment towards his dad, particularly when he came back into his life after his son’s success and asked for money.
Stormzy is a Christian and has come to terms with his father. He wants to reunite with him.
He says: “It’s very right that I hold this pain because of what he’s done, with him not being there.
“He’s a flawed man. He made a huge mistake. But I know he’s really sorry and he’s reached out through my mother and my sisters.
“I am going to speak to him — I now have the power to say, ‘I forgive you.’ ”
‘I’ve been stabbed a few times – to some people that’s horrifying. I went to hospital’
Stormzy also speaks out about his youth in South London, when he started rapping around the age of 11.
He explains: “I’ve been stabbed a few times — to some people that’s going to be horrifying. I went to hospital.”
He recalls the time he ended up in court charged with possession of a weapon, although he didn’t go to jail and managed to turn his life around, largely through his music.
He said: “I got friends who went way, way deeper. It is possible to go on this journey, and it can take you anywhere.
“It is a random box of prison, death, becoming an entrepreneur. You learned to be streetwise and you applied that — becoming a musician, or becoming a footballer.
“But of course the most likely one is harmed, dead or in jail.”
Asked by Louis if any of his friends died as a result of knife crime, he said: “Loads. It’s normal. Are you sure?
“It’s one of the things that happens — people pass away or get harmed.
“We didn’t always realise it then, but we realise it now as grown men — people lose their mental health badly.
‘I was living with 17 other kids. I had no idea about banter but when I came out of that I knew how to crack a joke’
“I have friends I grew up with who, if they saw me today, wouldn’t recognise me because they have serious mental health issues.
“It could be trauma, or sometimes they get involved in the drugs that they sell.”
Stormzy spoke about how he changed his outlook after working at an oil refinery where he met people with different backgrounds.
He said: “I applied for this apprenticeship. I had to go to Leamington spa because I was living in a house with 17 other children.
“They were all white kids — they were all from Scotland, Yorkshire, Newcastle. I was unaware of banter and didn’t take myself seriously.
“I came out of that and I knew how to crack a joke and I knew how to take a joke. I didn’t take myself seriously.
“It helped me see people and see life and see there was a culture outside of my culture.
“It’s always enlightening for anyone to come out of where they’re from and see the world.
“And for me the world was just an hour and a half up the road.”
However, the rapper is aware that he needs to be cautious when discussing other lifestyles than his own.
He said: “I’m always careful when I speak about it ’cos things are easy to discuss in the suburbs on my sofa — it’s people’s lives and people’s realities.”
- Louis Theroux interviews Stormzy on BBC2 Monday, 9.15pm.