The grime artist said that racism had become worse since Boris Johnson had taken office
Stormzy has described Boris Johnson as “encouraging hate” and Britain as “definitely, 100 per cent” racist, a problem he said has grown since the Prime Minister took office.
The British grime artist made the comments in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica where he was asked whether Britain was still racist.
The 26-year-old from Croydon agreed that it was, even if this was sometimes “hidden”.
“It’s like: ‘Oh no, we’re not racist’. But there’s a lot of racism in the country,” he said.
“The difficult thing with the UK is, as you said, in Italy it’s a clear problem, whereas trying to explain that Britain is a racist country [to a British person] is the most difficult thing ever.
“They think: ‘No, it’s not. Stormzy, you’re successful. Look at London, there’s loads of black people …’ It’s a more difficult case to fight”, he said.
‘Scary’
Stormzy said that the prime minister’s contentious remarks had emboldened people to say racist things in the UK.
“If the top person can openly say this racist thing – the ‘piccaninnies’ remarks, ‘watermelon smiles’, comparing Muslim women to a letter box – if that is our figurehead, the top man, the leader we have to follow, and he openly says these things, he encourages hate among others.”
He added that things had become worse since Mr Johnson had taken power.
“Before, people had to hide their racism. If you felt something bad about about black people, about Muslims, you had to shut up.
“Now these people have the confidence to come out in public to say everything,” he said.
“This is scary to me, that scares the shit out of me”.
‘A dark history’
When asked if he would accept an honour such as an MBE or OBE, Stormzy was conflicted, describing it as “an honour” that would make his mother proud, but adding that it would be difficult to accept “because of the British empire”.
“It’s got a very dark history. You know, Britain colonised everywhere. It’s something I’d look into and decide in case of,” he said.
Stormzy, whose real name is Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo, has been an outspoken critic of the Conservative Party, particularly Boris Johnson.
His single Vossi Bop included the line “F*ck the government and f*ck Boris”, a phrase used by anti-Boris campaigners leading up to the election.
The grime star has previously spoken out in support of the Labour Party, citing Jeremy Corbyn as being a politician “committed to giving power back to the people and helping those who need a helping hand from the government the most”.
He also signed an open letter to the Guardian, along with other cultural figures, backing the party’s pledge to end austerity in the UK.
Stormzy’s new album Heavy is the Head was released on 13 December and has gone to the top of the streaming charts.
