Stormzy Gets Nine-Month Road Ban for Using Cellphone While Driving

U.K. grime star Stormzy was served a nine-month driving ban after pleading guilty to using his phone while driving, according to the BBC.

The rapper (real name Michael Ebenazer Owuo Jr.) was originally stopped by an off-duty police officer, who claimed Owuo was using his phone while driving a Rolls-Royce through London. During the stop, the officer reportedly knocked on Owuo’s tinted passenger window and told him, “Get rid of your tints and get off your phone.” 

While Owuo originally denied the claim, he later wrote to the court to change his plea to guilty. Along with the nine-month ban, Owuo was fined £2,010 (about $2,400), and penalty points were added to his license.

Owuo did not appear at his sentencing hearing Thursday, Jan. 2, at the Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court, where the presiding judge, Andrew Sweet, called Owuo’s actions “dangerous and irresponsible.” The rapper’s lawyer, Peter Csemiczky, said Owuo had apologized and accepted his punishment. 

Last July, Owuo pleaded guilty to a different infraction when he admitted to driving a Lamborghini with illegally tinted windows. During Thursday’s hearing, the judge said Owuo’s driving was “not good,” while the prosecutor, Alice Holloway, said the Lamborghini incident put “vulnerable road users at risk.”

Stormzy released his most recent album, This Is What I Mean, in 2022. Since then, he’s released a handful of singles, including two tracks that dropped last year, “Problems Over Peace” with AP Dhillon and “Backbone” with Chase and Status. In 2024, he also featured on Headie One’s song, “Cry No More.” 

From Rolling Stone US.