UK grime superstar Stormzy has recalled the “incredible” experience of receiving a piano lesson from Paul McCartney.
No matter how you look at it, Stormzy is undeniably one of the most prominent members of the UK hip-hop community. With plenty of singles to his name, one studio album, and numerous worldwide tours, the 25-year-old is even gearing up to release his autobiography, Rise Up, this week.
While it would seem like this world-beating muso has every facet of the music making process covered, he recently opened up about his experience of learning how to play piano from none other than former Beatle Paul McCartney.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Stormzy revealed how he met the musical legend after Sir Paul had performed an intimate gig at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios earlier this year.
“I was just so compelled,” Stormzy recalled. “In the presence of someone that great, to get advice — anything for my career an OG like him can give me.”
“But I know the stigma that comes with being a rapper, so I introduced myself as a songwriter,” he recalled. “‘Can you teach me something?’ He went to the piano, and I just thought, ‘Shut up, listen.’”
“What he taught me was incredible. He said, ‘Use these three chords, and make any song.’ I was, like, ‘Flipping heck!’”
Paul McCartney also recalled this impromptu lesson while talking to The Sunday Times last month.
“He’s (Stormzy) looking to advance his music,” McCartney explained. “As a rapper, I thought he’d have words down, but there was a piano, so I showed him basic stuff – how you get middle C, make a chord, a triad and, just by moving that, get D minor, E minor, F, G, A minor, and how that’s enough for anyone.”
While Paul McCartney has undoubtedly worked with some big names in the past, it sounds as though Stormzy might go down in history as one of Sir Paul’s most grateful students.
Check out Stormzy’s ‘Big For Your Boots’:
