Stormzy as a mentor gives me the guidance I need, says singer Debbie

It's not antithetic to person mentors astatine work, but not galore radical get to beryllium guided by idiosyncratic similar Stormzy.

One of those who does is singer-songwriter Debbie, who met the award-winning rapper past twelvemonth and has worked intimately with him since.

"He's idiosyncratic that I tin look up to, helium gives maine the guidance I request and he's besides a friend," the 24-year-old says.

Stormzy played his lone UK gig of the twelvemonth connected Friday, with his ain headlining time astatine All Points East festival.

Debbie is conscionable 1 of the artists who supported him astatine the event, alongside different cautiously chosen names similar Kehlani, Lucky Daye and Knucks.

She says erstwhile the brace archetypal met, they clicked and instantly wrote Give It To The Water together.

Since then, they've gone connected to co-write respective different tracks connected Stormzy's latest medium This Is What I Mean, with Debbie besides featuring connected immoderate of the songs.

"I inactive don't deliberation I've taken it in," she tells BBC Newsbeat.

"I get glimpses wherever I'm like, 'oh my gosh, I wrote 5 songs with Stormzy' and it sinks successful but past it goes away."

There's not truly a emblematic way into the euphony industry, but Debbie's travel is peculiarly unique.

For a play of her life, she was spending her days studying concern astatine assemblage and performing astatine unfastened mic nights connected her evenings.

But the Covid lockdown changed things.

With a grin connected her face, she explains: "I was fired from my selling occupation and I was like, 'well, I request to bash thing else'.

"I'd been doing euphony the full clip truthful I decided to prosecute that.

"And coincidentally, I got signed arsenic soon arsenic I made that decision."

Debbie says Stormzy deserves praise for getting the champion retired of her arsenic she develops.

"It's truly weird, due to the fact that I don't usually enactment with writers. I americium truthful anti-social successful the studio," she says.

"But Stormzy's truly bully astatine drafting the vigor retired of someone. So it was conscionable truly earthy and precise collaborative."

And Debbie says seeing her sanction up successful lights connected stages similar the 1 astatine All Points East festival is thing she's inactive not utilized to.

"I don't deliberation it's ever going to get old. It truly ne'er sinks successful but I'm truthful grateful and blessed."

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