Stormzy named Dillian Whyte in his new single “Mel Made Me Do It”.
The superstar recording artist referenced a plethora of sports stars in his new track, including the British heavyweight boxer who he once had a serious dispute with.
Their feud originated in 2015 when Whyte was set to fight Anthony Joshua for the British heavyweight title.
The clash between North London’s AJ and South London’s Whyte was a heated affair and saw a rise in tension between the two who shared a sense of unease towards each other.
In a surprise twist at the O2 Arena on fight night, Joshua enlisted Stormzy – who at this point was only beginning to emerge as a mainstream entertainer – to rap his hit “Shut Up” for the ring walk.
Despite being from south London, Stormzy was friends with Joshua and so agreed to perform an adapted version of the song.
The altered lyrics aimed at Whyte began: “The man trying to say he’s better than AJ? Tell my man to shut up.
“Man spinning Dillian like Beyblades. Oi rudeboy shut up. Better than AJ? Shut up.”
In the fight itself, Joshua KOd Whyte in the seventh round, ending a thrilling shootout that saw the duo ignite a brawl with punches thrown after the bell early on.
Stormzy celebrated with Joshua in his locker room and the whole situation didn’t go well with Whyte.
Whyte told iFL TV a few months after the fight: “Listen, if you’re from south London you know what the codes are from day one.
“If he is in the south, he stays with the south. You don’t side with a North London man…
“Stormzy talks nonsense, ‘Chat s*** get banged.’ Do you think Stormzy would say that to my face?
“Do you think Stormzy could tell me to shut up?” So go.
“I would knock him out. I would give him the real one-bang and knock him out.
“Look, Stormzy wouldn’t dare say shut up in front of me and that’s a fact.”
The rapper fired back with a few lines at the end of his “One Take” freestyle shortly after.
This time, Stormzy’s final words were, “I timed it, my man lost it.” The man took a beating, the referee should have stopped him. You wiped it, you had a chance to flop it.
“Threatening me won’t make you the heavyweight champion, rude stop it.”
The track ended with Stormzy walking away from the camera as commentary played from when Joshua KOd Whyte.
Somewhat surprisingly, Whyte did not kick off.
“I’m grateful he made a song about me,” the heavyweight told Sky, “There’s nothing better than free publicity.”
“Since he did that, I’ve had a lot of likes on Instagram and Twitter, more followers and more hits.
“I feel privileged that someone took the time to make a song about me.
“There are famous people in this world who have never been talked about or pointed at.
“I feel privileged and just hope he doesn’t charge me.”
In 2018, after some time, Whyte confirmed that the beef had been settled.
“Me and Stormzy have had our little mischief, but fair play to Stormzy, he’s fine,” Whyte told Sky.
“You can’t hate a man who is well. This combat thing was part of launching his career, so it’s a business.
“At the time, I was a little annoyed about it, but you can’t take these things personally. You have to learn to forgive and move on.
“Congratulations to him, he is doing well, and I hope he continues to do well.
“I can’t hate a man who does good and feeds his family.”
Fast forward four years to 2022 and the tables have now completely turned.
In Stormzy’s new single “Mel Made Me Do It”, he named Whyte in a positive light in the same vein as soccer superstar Kylian Mbappe.
The lyrics say, “Man, I got techs like I’m Kylian, kick like I’m Dillian.”
All’s well that ends well, as the two south Londoners now appear to be on good terms.