Rapper: Jez not a villain
STAR DITCHES WEED
STORMZY says the way in which Jeremy Corbyn has been “vilified” is “really disheartening”.
The musician, 29, urged fans to vote for the-then Labour leader in 2019. Corbyn lost the Labour whip in 2020 in a row over antisemitism in the party.
Stormzy said: “It was really disheartening. I just thought so highly of him and still think so highly of him.”
He added: “And I think, ‘Well if they can make him... I mean if he’s the villain in the grand scheme of things, then s**t’s madder than I ever thought.’”
STORMZY has stopped smoking pot and doom-scrolling to become the best version of himself.
The Londoner returns with important new album This Is What I Mean next week and he’s been in training all year to deliver the best performances – like he did at the MTV Europe Music Awards on Sunday.
Detailing his new routine, Stormzy spilled: “I go on the most intense diet and get my nutritionist in, I get my trainer in. You’d think I was training for the Olympics.
“And I stop smoking weed because I know that the best version of myself doesn’t smoke weed. It’s just easy maths in my head. This is what you need to do.”
Stormzy, who got his dream selfie with Taylor Swift at the EMAS, has also cut out screen time: “I just don’t think the best version of myself is scrolling on my phone. It can’t be good for anyone’s mental health.
“God didn’t design us to consume that much traffic, that much information. I don’t want it to seem like I’m on a high horse. I just don’t think it’s that healthy.” Lockdown allowed Stormzy to take his first break in five years, but it also got him into bad habits.
He told GQ’s Men Of The Year Celebration edition: “I could see pretty quickly that if I smoked weed during lockdown that would be a recipe for disaster. “That is not going to bring anything good into my life.”
Instead he flew to Jamaica to partake in a cross between a Buddhist retreat and group therapy. “It was deeply spiritual. We would sit by the pool all day and just talk and just have time with our feelings.
“I feel like that’s when my life really changed for ever.” Now Stormzy, who will be toasted at the 25th annual GQ Men Of The Year celebration in association with BOSS tomorrow, is set to deliver the best LP of his career: “I know that this album gives me freedom, which is all I want.
“Whether you hate me or love me, at least we can all have a joint consensus that this guy is going to do what he wants.”
● Read the full interview in GQ, which is out on November 29.