Stormzy passed through the BBC Radio 1 show hosted by presenter Cel Spellman to talk all things #Merky and the controversy behind his scholarship scheme due in 2019.
Highlighting the artist’s achievements within the music scene, the discussion swiftly moved onto the topic of his upcoming book titled Rise Up: The #Merky Story So Far. Co-written by Jude Yawson, whom accompanied the interview, the pair discuss the journey towards the making of a book, inspirations behind it and the recent backlash towards the scholarship scheme alongside Cambridge University.
Earlier this year, South London rapper announced he was launching a ‘Stormzy Scholarship Scheme’ in hope to cover and fund full tuition and maintenance loan for two young black students to study at the University of Cambridge in 2019. Delving into detail on what his ambitions are for the future of his community, he explains his optimism towards people who may not understand the gap in the society and the need for particularly young black people to succeed in the higher education after receiving confused responses to the plan.
Statistics show that only a small minority of people from a BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) background succeed within higher education. he added, “It’s so important for black students, especially, to be aware that it can 100% be an option to attend a university of this calibre.”
The book explores unseen images of the star; interviews and a sudden rise to fame by a young, regular South Londoner, in its most raw yet true to self-form. The MC wasn’t shy to admit that he didn’t know what he was doing during parts of the process, mentioning he wasn’t sure if his story was good enough. However with the help of co-author and his analogy of the youth looking up to inspirational black people within the industry, the rise of #Merky is more than just a hash-tag.
Watch the BBC Radio 1 Interview above.