UK grime sensation, Stormzy, has announced his debut NZ tour - hitting Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin this October.

Since releasing his debut EP, ‘Dreamers Disease’, only two years ago, at just 22 years old, the South London artist has scooped up two MOBOs, toured the world, won Best International Artist at the BET Awards, performed on Jools Holland, has become the first unsigned rapper to feature on the BBC Sound Of… list, sold almost a million records, and made history by sending two grime freestyles 'Shut Up' and 'WickedSkengMan4' into the UK chart top 20 for the first time in history.

“My freestyles always seem to do well,” he explains. “Aside from my songs, they have become the gold of what I do.” He finished 2015 with his own show on Apple Radio, aptly titled #Merky, making him the youngest presenter on the roster, alongside names like Pharrell Williams, Dr Dre, Ezra Koenig and more.

Now Stormzy is focusing on writing his debut album. It hasn’t stopped him from dropping a few surprise tracks here and there, like ‘Standard’, ‘One Take’ and his new anthem 'Scary'.

“Sometimes I just need to say something right now. Things I wanted to get it off my chest. No matter what campaign I’m on, I always want to be able to drop a track whenever I want.”

For many who only know Stormzy as the six foot MC who spits fire on YouTube, the debut album may come as something of a pleasant eye opener. He’s immersed himself fully in the craft of songwriting and production, gleaned from those years of growing up on slow jams. Twelve tracks of grime this ain’t.

Stormzy

Wednesday October 5th: Sammy’s, Dunedin

Thursday October 6th: San Fran Bath House, Wellington

Friday October 7th: Bedford, Christchurch

Saturday October 8th: Studio, Auckland

Tickets on sale Friday 29 July, 9am via The Ticket Fairy