UK grime star Stormzy banned from driving for nine months

A London judge on Thursday banned British grime star Stormzy from driving for nine months after an undercover police officer caught him using a phone behind the wheel of a Rolls-Royce in west London.

District judge Andrew Sweet handed the 31-year-old rapper the ban after he pleaded guilty via letter to driving while using the device in West Kensington on March 7 last year.

At Wimbledon Magistrates' Court, the judge also fined him £2,010 ($2,498) after six more points were added to his license.

Before Thursday's hearing, Stormzy—Michael Ebenezer Owuo Junior—had six points on his license for a previous speeding offense.

In the UK, drivers can be disqualified if they accumulate 12 or more penalty points within three years.

Sweet said that Owuo's driving record was "not good" and criticized his "dangerous and irresponsible" actions.

The rapper's lawyer, Peter Csemiczky, said his client accepted responsibility and apologized.

Stormzy is a cult figure in the British grime scene. This genre blends Jamaican dancehall and hip hop for a pulsating, hard-edged sound that first electrified London over two decades ago.

His biggest hits now appear in TV ads, and in 2019, he made history by becoming the first black UK solo artist to headline the Glastonbury music festival.