A STUDENT was congratulated by rap star Stormzy after getting a first-class degree with a dissertation about him.
Amarie Cassidy wrote a 10,000-word essay on British hip-hop’s stereotyping of black men, and included an in-depth analysis of him.


It helped earn her the top grade in her arts and science degree at University College London.
Amarie tweeted: “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 thanks.”
The tweet caught the eye of Stormzy himself.
The rapper, from Croydon, South London, replied: “This is so sick, thank you for choosing me, that’s a great feeling and congratulations on your first.”
It was still so shocking and heart-warming to see that he actually did
Amarie Cassidy, UCL graduate
But the new University College London graduate was not completely surprised by the star’s response.
Amarie said: “Everyone knows Stormzy is such a cool guy who interacts with his fans.
“It was still so shocking and heart-warming to see that he actually did.”
Amerie’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.”
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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.
“I knew there was another side to the argument and I wanted to explore it.”

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