Gabriella Ferlita
Today, Stormzy dropped his latest album This Is What I Mean and already rumours surrounding who it was dedicated to are flying.
The 29-year-old rapper, born Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr., has been praised for exploring gospel music with his third studio album.
And it’s certainly a departure for a rapper famed for big grime and trap sounds solidified on the likes of ‘Shut Up’ and ‘Vossi Bop’, although the star recently said in a statement that he's 'never trying to defy genres or go against the grain'.
His opening track on the new album has certainly won over the hearts of listeners with his raw, heartfelt lyrics like: “You make your people proud / you're a star in all our eyes,” and “I'll never put my hand on you / still the biggest fan of you.”
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It’s even led his fans to believe that the record is a tribute to his ex Maya Jama.
“Stormzy album intro basically dedicated to Maya Jama,” one fan wrote on Twitter, while another agreed, tweeting: “This Stormzy album is definitely for Maya Jama.”
“Stormzy should have named his album Maya Jama,” a third quipped.
And with lyrics in the first track ‘Fire + Water’ reading 'listenin' to ‘Lessons’, that's a lesson taught' - with 'Lessons' being a previous Stormzy track about Jama - you can see why fans would come to that conclusion.
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Speculation about their breakup started in August 2019 after he released ‘Lessons’, the 15th track on his previous album Heavy is the Head.
In the reflective song, the musician admitted at the time that he 'done the dirt' and says 'you cannot imagine how I'm sorry'.
And if that’s not enough to convince you it’s about his ex, he even name-dropped his former flame in the second verse.
However, in a previous interview with HOT 97, he insisted that it wasn’t cheating which split the pair up.
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When asked about the allegations, he said: "D'you know what? It's good that you asked me this. I didn't cheat. I didn't cheat!
"It's so mad because even with the song - I made a song called 'Lessons' addressing the situation. And since the situation happened, there was a lot of, like, 'You're a cheat!'
"With the song, I kind of just stepped out and [took] full accountability. [What I actually did was] a big disrespect.
“It was very inconsiderate. It didn't need for it to be cheating for it to be a disrespect. But I thought now was a good time to say that I didn't cheat on my ex."
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LADbible has contacted a representative of Stormzy for a comment.