Quote by Stormzy: “I see young Black kids and think: be great. That is all.”

There is no higher expectation and no heavier responsibility. Seeing the next generation and wanting greatness for them is a form of love — but also a form of defiance. It says: the world's low expectations of you are wrong, and I refuse to accept them.

Stormzy headlined Glastonbury in June 2019 in a performance widely described as a defining cultural moment for Black British identity. The following months saw him announce a scholarship fund for Black students to attend Cambridge University, making his commitment to Black excellence explicitly institutional as well as rhetorical.

British rapper of Ghanaian descent who became the first Black British solo artist to headline Glastonbury in 2019. A central figure in the UK grime and hip-hop scene, he established the Merky Books publishing imprint and a scholarship program for Black students at Cambridge University.