Dazed - Summer 2023, Stormzy

Dazed Summer 2023 - Stormzy

“Stormzy is a Briton that represents the best of the country today,” says editor-in-chief IB Kamara for the #HOMEGROWN issue cover star. Stormzy grew up in Croydon with two worlds inside of him: one, in ends with local MCs like Charmz under the haze of the new millennium, and two, the Ghanaian home his parents left behind to come to the UK. Back in the studio working on new music in the run-up to his 30th birthday, he reflects on his part in a cross-generational, globe-spanning story that's got the world on fire.

"There's a difference in doing this on your first album at 22 and your fourth when you're about to turn 30," he says. "It's the kind of peace and stability and stillness you can only get from maturity. You lose all the nervous shivers and the anxiety; you shake it off because now you're a grown man coming into your skin.”

"I'm bolder, braver and even more fearless…I'm all of that but with maturity" – Stormzy

A young boy's pipe dream had spiralled beyond anything he could imagine, and never knew it would come so quickly. A Croydon talent from working-class roots, Stormzy’s honest and heartfelt rise from the city’s do-it-yourself grime scene to a Glastonbury headline slot was the quintessential UK success story.

UK cover price: £5.99