A couple of years ago, Stormzy stunned his fans when he removed all of his profiles from social media. In a recent episode of Tems‘ “Leading Vibe Radio,” the South Londoner opened up on his decision to part ways with Instagram and Twitter during a high point of his still-active career:

“I remember when I first came off social media. I had a European tour straight after. … I came off social media in February. I had a European tour in like March. And I remember I was doing an arena show in Denmark. … I think it was about 15,000 people. We done the show and I came off stage and I remember one of my first feelings was getting the clip of us to put on social media but I didn’t have social media. I remember it being a weird feeling.”

He continued, “Because that’s what I would normally do anytime I’ve done something great, I’m like, ‘Rah, I’m gonna show everyone.’ And I remember thinking in that moment, ‘That’s ego, that’s ego. That’s probably validation’ … that was a big lesson for me in terms of what ego is and how you gotta kill ego. … Because what is it that I’m trying to gain?”

In addition, Stormzy spoke on his need to separate from “noise” while referencing JAY-Z‘s perspective on songs like “Kill Jay Z” and “Bam.” Ultimately, he stresses the importance of both his Christian faith and staying focused on his right “to be a human.”

Back in 2019, Stormzy released his sophomore studio LP Heavy Is the Head, a 16-song body of work that contained contributions from Headie One, Tiana Major9, Yebba, H.E.R., Aitch, Ed Sheeran, and Burna Boy. The critically acclaimed album went Gold within a month of its release, eventually earning Stormzy a Platinum certification several months later. Click here to listen to Stormzy‘s full sit-down with Tems.