Stormzy has declared that the best music in the world ‘is coming out of Africa’ right now.
The 29-year-old rapper – who was born in London but is of Ghanaian descent – recently sat down for an interview with Dazed, where he opened up about his excitement over the music currently being made in the continent.
“People are just being unapologetic in their Blackness and it’s the greatest music on Earth right now,” he shared. “The greatest music on Earth is coming out of Africa. Even that is just inspiring: be your Black self. And look! It’s got the world on fire. I’ll tell my kids I was a part of this time in culture. I had an offering. I was here; I was a part of it.”
In recent years, Africa has seen the emergence of Nigerian musicians garnering global recognition, such as Wizkid, Burna Boy and Olamide, Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie, and Cameroonian-American singer Libianca Fonji.
The “Vossi Bop” star, who performed at the Global Citizen Festival in Ghana’s capital Accra in September, also spoke about how his mother’s country is his “home” and in his “blood.”
Later in the interview, Brit Award winner also reflected on his storied career ahead of his 30th birthday in July.
“There’s a difference in doing music at 22 and when you’re about to turn 30,” he explained. “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.”
Stormzy released his third album, This Is What I Mean, in November last year, and is currently working on new music.