Grime star Stormzy has said it is “ridiculous” that the scholarship he is offering to help black Cambridge University students pay their tuition fees has been branded racist.
The scholarship aims to encourage the admission of more black students to top universities, after none got into some Cambridge University colleges between 2012 and 2016.
What a morning! The launch of the Stormzy scholarship on #alevelresultsday2018 . See behind-the-scenes when he met our students:#GoingToCambridge https://t.co/AIqocrBw64 pic.twitter.com/USQh2IBaye
— Cambridge University (@Cambridge_Uni) August 16, 2018
Two successful Cambridge applicants this year and two next year will have their fees paid for by the scholarship.
Addressing the negative responses to the initiative he told BBC Radio 1’s Life Hacks: “After I launched the scholarship and I said it’s a scholarship for young black kids, some people were going as far as to say ‘racist’.
"There were times I didn't know what I was doing… I was just a kid trying to figure it out, I just had to trust my truth."
Don't miss Stormzy's inspirational chat with the Life Hacks team about his journey so far. Listen this Sunday from 4pm on Radio 1 or @BBCSounds. pic.twitter.com/0xoE0NmyIh
— Radio 1 on BBC Sounds (@BBCR1) November 8, 2018
“I didn’t feel the need to explain my stance of having a scholarship that’s only for young black students.
“But the more backlash that came, I started to understand that it’s a deeper rooted problem of that people don’t actually understand the imbalance.
“So If I’m trying to do something that bridges a gap, it’s a bit difficult when people don’t actually see a gap.
“It’s not everyone’s fault that they don’t understand that gap. I genuinely have to explain that there is a barrier for young black people.
“I always got to reiterate on that and say this isn’t bias, this isn’t discriminatory. It’s none of that. It’s literally trying to bridge the gap to make it an equal playing field.
“Anyone that thinks it’s racist or thinks it’s biased isn’t even worth an argument because that is so ridiculous.”
We have not received or turned down a proposal for student support from Stormzy and have been speaking to his team this morning to establish what happened.
— Oxford University (@UniofOxford) November 8, 2018
Oxford University has been forced to deny that it turned down an offer from Stormzy to fund a scholarship there.
The rapper, real name Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr, has previously revealed he harboured ambitions of studying at either Oxford or Cambridge when he was at school.
Life Hacks is on BBC Radio 1 on Sunday from 4pm.