Stormzy, Merky Books

The author of this book of recent pop history is billed as Stormzy, but it has mostly been pulled together by Jude Yawson. He’s a young writer who has secured a place for himself in the burgeoning array of talents that have found themselves orbiting Stormzy’s world over recent years, especially as the grime star’s fame has exploded. It’s a book that documents the rise of the Mercury Prize winner who has always been keen on using up and coming talent to help him, be it in management, promotion, shooting videos etc. It’s an oral history with Yawson conducting interviews with around 12 or so of the main players who all offer up their wide-eyed tales of rising from nothing to the upper echelons of the music world. It’s not particularly illuminating however, with the message rarely rising above “Just follow your dreams”. And I can barely read the phrase “#Merky” – the name of Stormzy’s company, which already sounds dated – without gritting my teeth. Stick with the records.