Stormzy congratulates UCL student on getting a First in her 10,000-word Hip Hop dissertation… about HIM
- Amarie Cassidy studied for an arts and science degree at UCL and got a First
- She penned her dissertation on Stormzy and researched hip hop’s stereotypes
- Stormzy tweeted the student to thank her for choosing him to write about
- Amarie said she hadn’t been surprised at his response as he is a ‘cool guy’
British rapper Stormzy has congratulated a student who bagged a First in her 10,000-word Hip Hop dissertation, of which he had been the subject.
University College London (UCL) student Amarie Cassidy penned the essay on British hip hop’s stereotyping of black men, and included an in-depth analysis of the Croydon rapper.
It earned Amarie a top grade in her arts and science degree from what is classed as one of the UK’s most prestigious universities.
After graduating, Amarie shared the good news on Twitter and thanked Stormzy for playing a ‘huge part’ in her success.
Amarie Cassidy (pictured above) earned a First in her degree, in which her dissertation was about British rapper Stormzy
Rapper Stormzy (pictured above) thanks Amarie for choosing him as the topic of the essay
She said: ‘I graduated with a first class in my UCL dissertation on British Hip-Hop.
‘Stormzy and his works in and out of music were a huge part of it and I want to say thank you.’
The tweet attracted thousands of likes and even caught the eye of Stormzy, compelling him to respond the day after Amarie posted.
The London-born rapper said: ‘This is so sick, thank you for choosing me, that’s a great feeling and congratulations on your first.’
Despite the amount of likes her tweet received, Amarie claimed to have not been surprised by Stormzy’s reaction and sold student newspaper The Tab that he was a ‘cool guy who really interacts with his fans so I thought it was possible’.
She added: ‘It was still so shocking and heart-warming to see that he actually did though.’
Amarie’s dissertation was titled ‘That’s Not Me: An interdisciplinary analysis of the black male identity in British hip-hop.’
Part-time DJ Amarie always wanted to write her dissertation on hip-hop, but honed in on her topic after reading a paper called ‘How Hip-Hop holds Blacks back.’
She said: ‘It portrayed the genre and the artists in such a one-sided way.
‘In this day and age, we’re seeing hip-hop artists start businesses, charities and change peoples’ lives for the better.
Amarie (pictured above) was working part time at Sony Music while studying for her degree
‘I knew there was another side to the argument and I wanted to explore it.’
Amarie, who held down a job at Sony Music during her studies, set out to change the often negative narrative surrounding black hip-hop artists.
She added: ‘From school to adulthood, there are so many systematic hurdles faced by black people and ethnic minorities in Britain that mean they shouldn’t be successful or even be at top universities like UCL.
‘That was probably the most interesting but also the most difficult to read about, being black British.’
Reflecting on the mammoth task of writing a dissertation, Amarie advised fellow students to pick a topic they enjoy.
She said: ‘It’s hours in the library and a lot of reading. Whatever your course is, just try and pick something that will keep you wanting to read and write about it. 10,000 words on any topic ain’t easy.’
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