The English-Ghanaian rapper shared his excitement for the new project on Instagram, “This is something we’ve been working on behind the scenes for a long time: a platform for bold, authentic and powerful British storytelling.”

The announcement preview shows Stormzy playing his first lead role as the protagonist of his film.

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The #Merky creative umbrella homes a line of projects including #Merky Books, #Merky FC and #Merky Foundation. This new venture into film already has its first release set for 18 June, the short film Big Man. Stormzy will star as the lead role in the film, directed by Aneil Karia, known for the Oscar-winning film The Long Goodbye. Big Man will take to YouTube with bold cinematography filmed on the iPhone 16 Pro in partnership with Apple. 

Big Man will take on a paralleling narrative to his music, following “the poignant, fictional story of Tenzman, a former rap star now navigating a restless and uncertain chapter of his life” as he summarised in a press release. Stormzy and the team behind the new film company spoke to the Guardian about the upcoming release, sharing that “the film thoughtfully explores themes of reconnecting with your younger self and embracing gratitude”.

This is only the start of #Merky Films, as Stormzy went on to share future plans for the company, which will include “thought-provoking documentaries”, a “bold new animation project” and a “boundary-pushing, new-age mockumentary”. The release of #Merky Films comes after his latest single ‘Easier Done Than Said’ with JVCK JAMES. After a three year break from his last solo album ‘This Is What I Mean’, the singer shared the rapid vent track ‘Sorry Rach!’ in which he calls out his frustrations following the backlash from his previous partnership with McDonalds.     

With slower releases in music, Stormzy has focused on creations under the #Merky projects. The rapper has posted several updates to projects on Instagram, sharing improvements to #Merky FC which was created to combat the underrepresentation of black people in football leadership roles. Additionally, Stomzy has put #Merky Foundation as a priority online, announcing applications for Stormzy Scholarships at Cambridge University.   

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Keep up to date with updates on Stormzy’s next movements on social media, and watch out for new information on #Merky Films on the official website.

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The rapper has become as well known for his philanthropy work as his multiple hits, the 28-year-old artist first garnered attention for his activism after the George Floyd protests. Owuo issued a statement via his record label outlining his charitable plans, the rapper stated he would donate £1 million annually for a decade to various charities and movements. In 2020 the rapper set up the #Merky Foundation which adopted the promises outlined in the statement, since its formation the foundation has raised millions of pounds to support issues surrounding racial inequality.

A description on the foundation’s website confirms its mission statement, “At #Merky, we have always used our brand to elevate, support and amplify the issues and the voices of the black community. To continue and expand upon our activism and philanthropic work, #Merky Foundation pledges £10 million over 10 years, to organisations, charities & movements that are committed to fighting for racial equality, justice reform and black empowerment within the UK. #Merky will forever remain devoted to improving and safeguarding the lives of those within the black community and this is just the beginning of our lifetime commitment to financially and wholeheartedly back these causes.”

Along with his foundation, the multiple BRIT award winner has also supplied scholarships to black students enrolled at the University of Cambridge, in doing so Stormzy aims to address racial issues reported within higher education institutions. In 2021, the artist also established a new charitable partnership with HSBC UK, the banking company joined forces with the #Merky Foundation to further endorse opportunities within higher education. The new philanthropic collaboration was set up to raise funding and support for the education of 30 students, the “Stormzy Scholars” will receive financial help to cover tuition fees and any maintenance costs for three years.

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During his acceptance speech, the rapper joked about how he worried that his philanthropy work had overtaken his notary as a musician. During his rousing and emotional speech, Stormzy also congratulated students and praised their commitment, “The journey I took to get to this moment has been considerably different to yours. You guys have the guts and the grit and the dedication that it takes to study for years and to finish your degree whereas I got my AS results in my first year of college and said yeah, see you later. I didn’t have the same minerals that you guys have. A year later I took another swing at my A levels at a different college until I sat down for my English exam in January and walked out after 10 minutes.”

The rapper continued to praise those graduating, “It took a hell of a lot for you to get here today. Your journeys to get to this moment were hard fought. The road you took was not easy. And this is coming from someone who tried to walk that exact same road and failed. So from the bottom of my heart, I say congratulations, well done and you should all be so proud of yourselves, what you have achieved is incredible. Don’t let anybody downplay it and don’t let anybody undermine it. If you are sat in this room today you are worthy and you are brilliant.”

Stormzy’s acceptance speech continued to inspire the students and those in attendance, “I bear the fruit and I share fruit and, without sounding too fantastical, that’s just what we’re meant to do in whatever way we can… We should always share and support, uplift and help in whatever capacity we are able to.” Within his acceptance speech The ”Vossi Bop” hitmaker gave a very special shout-out to his mother who was in attendance, he stated that it was “always her biggest dream for me to go to university and graduate and then become somebody.“

The Black Heart Foundation launched the campaign at the beginning of July in response to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. They intended to raise £500,000 from public donations. This money will be used to support twice as many young people through its Black Heart Scholarship Programme, raising the number of scholars from 100 to 200. Thanks to Stormzy’s support, the Black Heart Foundation say they’ve “smashed through”  their fundraising target with a total of £1.45 million, including match funding. This will enable the charity to fund an additional 50 scholars.

Ric Lewis, Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Black Heart Foundation, said: “We are grateful to #Merky Foundation and invigorated by their generosity. Their contribution is an amazing testament to their vision and commitment to higher and further education for ambitious, hard-working young people from the most under-resourced and under-represented communities in our society.”

“I want to thank everyone that has donated money so far. The response we have had has been incredible. I know there are others who still want to help us hit our original £500,000 crowdfunding target on Just Giving and so we are issuing one final invitation to everyone to get involved, give whatever they can, and be the change we want to see in our world.”

The donation is a grant to be put towards any educational activity, not just university degrees. Current recipients of the scholarship are being supported through undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, but also qualifications ranging from iGCSEs to pilot training. With the scholarship, they don’t have to worry about their financial situations at the same time. Anyone from an under-sourced and under-represented background is eligible to apply for the grant.

A spokesperson for the #Merky Foundation said: “The Black Heart Foundation is an incredible charity and we are proud to make them the first beneficiary to receive funding from our £10 million-pound pledge, announced earlier this year. Their ‘Each Day. Every Day’ campaign is a brilliant initiative and we are elated that our £500,000 donation has played a key part in helping them achieve their target. We encourage others to donate whatever they can to help change a young person’s life.”

The grime star initially declared his plan to donate half his net worth to organisations actively fighting racial inequality, in June of this year. This followed the global Black Lives Matter protests that were sparked by the death of George Floyd. He also established the ‘Stormzy scholarships’, to financially support two Black students through Cambridge every year.