Stormzy has landed himself in trouble with the law. The 31-year-old British rapper, singer, and songwriter has been banned from driving for nine months after pleading guilty to using a cell phone whilst driving his car through London. The incident occurred around 3.30 pm on March 7, 2024, when an undercover police officer knocked on the “tinted” passenger window of Stormy’s Rolls-Royce and said, “get rid of your tints and get off your phone.”
It wasn’t the first time the rapper had been warned about the windows. On Oct. 17, 2023, at around 12.45 pm, Stormzy was stopped by officers on Coombe Lane, Kingston upon Thames, and told to change them.
The court hearing occurred on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, with Stormzy not in attendance. He sent his guilty plea via letter, and district judge Andrew Sweet issued his ban and fined him £2,010. Per The Guardian, he had six points on his license at the time of the hearing, and Sweet described his driving record as “not good” and criticized his “dangerous and irresponsible” actions regarding his use of a cell phone behind the wheel.
Peter Csemiczky, the criminal defense solicitor representing Stormzy, told the court that the rapper accepted responsibility for his actions and had apologized for them. He added that the tints had been removed from his vehicle’s windows.
Stormzy’s past
For most of his career, Stormzy has avoided controversy, though not entirely. Per The Guardian, in 2017, some old tweets of his were unearthed from 2011 that exhibited homophobia, for which he profusely apologized, blaming immaturity and ignorance. Also, per The Independent, in 2020, he showed up at the house of fellow English rapper Chip looking for trouble after a perceived diss on Chip’s track “Waze,” with the incident being caught on film. Besides those highly unfortunate incidents, he’s been considered relatively clean-cut.
Born Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. on July 26, 1993, in London, England, Stormzy has gained some popularity in the United States and worldwide but is wildly popular in his native United Kingdom.
He has released three studio albums, a mixtape, two EPs, 25 singles as the lead artist, and 23 singles as a featured artist. His most popular tracks are undoubtedly 2019’s “Vossi Bop,” 2019’s “Own It” (featuring Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy), and 2024’s “Backbone” (with Chase & Status), all of which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart. He’s won countless awards, including three Brit Awards and seven MOBO Awards. However, perhaps his most significant achievement is that Olivia Colman’s MCU character, Special Agent Sonya Falsworth, listened to his music in Secret Invasion.
He’s known for his left-wing political views. He has vocally supported former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and been critical of former Conservative Party prime minister Theresa May (mainly because of how she handled the infamous Grenfell Tower fire of 2017).
Hopefully, Stormzy’s driving ban will teach him a valuable lesson — using a cell phone while in control of a vehicle is dangerous — and help him avoid getting into further trouble.
Published: Jan 2, 2025 10:13 am