Stormzy received honorary degree from the University of Exeter in recognition of his outstanding in higher education philanthropy

Thank you University of Exeter Feeling extremely blessed and grateful to receive this honorary doctorate – Stormzy

The grime superstar Stormzy received the honour in recognition of his “outstanding achievement in the field of higher education, philanthropy and widening participation”.

During his graduation speech on Tuesday 21 June, the musician said people should

always share and support, uplift and help in whatever capacity we are able.

The 28-year-old rapper had his fellow graduates laughing when he joked:

“I am going up in the world. I am a philanthropist now.”

He said:

“I used to really reject the honours and applause that come with something I genuinely believe was just a part of my purpose… the famous analogy I have always used is likening it to one of your mates popping to the shop and grabbing a couple of bags of crisps and a few bottles of Lucozade for all the boys.

He continued:

I have been so richly blessed by God and I don’t just mean financially, I mean with love and life and family and joy, and with peace and with purpose, so, to put it simply, 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.

Some of our destinies is to save one life, some of us are destined to build nations and schools, some of us will focus on raising our families and those closest to us, some of us will help our local community, some of us will help the neighbour next door, some of us will help the world, some of us will help a friend.

My point being that we should always share and support, uplift and help in whatever capacity we are able too. All of these different sizes and levels of being a helping hand are all beautiful and all of them are just as powerful as each other.”

Stormzy