Award-winning musician and education advocate Stormzy will receive an honorary doctorate in Law from Cambridge University this June.

The rapper, born Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr, will be recognised for his “philanthropic work and impact on education, music, sport and literature,” according to the University.

Stormzy has long used his platform to campaign for educational access and equity. His relationship with the University began in 2018 after he launched the Stormzy Scholarship to support black British students.

With additional funding from HSBC UK, the scholarship covers tuition and living costs for twelve undergraduates each year. Over 55 students have benefitted from the initiative, with the largest cohort to date set to graduate this academic year.

The University has credited the so-called “Stormzy effect” for driving the increase in applications from black students across the country.

The rapper is one of eight selected to receive honorary degrees this year, including Olympian Dame Katherine Grainger, who will also receive an honorary doctorate in Law. Grainger is a five-time Olympic medallist, the first female chair of the British Olympic Association, and is currently the Chancellor of the University of Glasgow.

The list of honourees includes the subjects: sports, arts, law, and science. Acclaimed conductor and composer Sir John Rutter, founder of the Cambridge Singers, is set to be honoured, alongside Caius alumnus Sir Simon Russell Beale, who will receive a doctorate in letters.

Cambridge is also set to honour author and political thinker Professor Angela Davis, Nobel prize-winning economist Sir Oliver Hart, former Supreme Court Justice Lady Arden, and Professor Maria Letin, president of the European Research Council.

All eight nominees have accepted their nominations and are set to be conferred in late June (25/06), as presided over by Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice.