Stormzy has paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman in the music video to his new track Superheroes.
The animated video for the song from his album Heavy Is The Head is dedicated to the Black Panther star, who died aged 43 last month following a private four-year fight against colon cancer.
Boseman was best known for playing superhero T’Challa in the Marvel films, including the influential 2018 blockbuster Black Panther.
The end of the video features a black screen with white text reading: “RIP Chadwick Boseman 1976-2020. Forever a Superhero in our hearts.”
The video, directed by British director Taz Tron Delix, also features tributes to rappers Little Simz and Dave and footballer Marcus Rashford, who has formed a child food poverty task force and forced the UK government into a U-turn over its free school meals policy during lockdown.
It features a young girl looking anxiously at herself in the mirror before she sees a picture of Little Simz on her wall and takes her hair down and smiles confidently.
It also shows grime star Dave leading protesters in masks at a Black Lives Matter rally, and a young girl playing football wearing a shirt with Manchester United striker Rashford’s name on the back.
The lyrics features references to the book Noughts And Crosses by Malorie Blackman, British actor and comedian Michael Dapaah, US tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams and includes quotes from the theme tune to British children’s show Tracy Beaker.
The video received its world premiere at schools in London, Glasgow, Dublin and Manchester, including Manchester Academy, the partner school of the Man Utd Foundation, on Wednesday morning.
We had an amazing start to our day today with a motivational message from none other than #Stormzy! Our school was chosen for the world premiere of Stormzy's new video #Superheroes from @AtlanticRecords, thanks to our friends @MU_Foundation, our students were blown away by it! pic.twitter.com/ef0uc1msVj
— Manchester Academy (@McrAcademy) September 9, 2020
Stormzy also sent a video message to pupils, saying: “Firstly, let me welcome you guys back to school. So you guys are about to be the first people on planet earth to see this video, it’s never been seen before, you lot are going to be the first to see it, so I’m very excited about that.
“I wanted to show it to you guys first, being students in school I think it’s important that you guys understand how powerful you are.”
He added: “We’re all superheroes, as much as we come from where we come from, we might be disadvantaged, we might have so many obstacles in front of us, you are a superhero in your own right, and don’t ever forget that.
“Those little skills that we have, those big skills that we have, those talents, those things that often go ignored, that makes you a superhero.
“The sky is the limit, to let you know all those things inside of you make you incredible.”
Last month the #Merky Foundation, the charitable organisation set up by Stormzy, pledged £500,000 to fund further or higher education for young people from underprivileged backgrounds as part of its £10 million fund to tackle racial inequality and injustice.
In August 2018 he announced The Stormzy Scholarship, to fund two black British students to go to the University of Cambridge.
He has also set up #Merky Books, an imprint within Penguin Random House UK.