Fabulously talented and famously outspoken, Stefflon Don is one of rap’s hottest stars. Here, she opens up about controversy, teen motherhood and staying true to herself
I was trying not to be in the lockdown,” rapper Stefflon Don tells me, running a multicoloured claw through back-length, honey-blonde extensions. “Hell no!” When we speak via Zoom in mid-November, Don is in Ghana, where she has flown to escape London, with her mother, son and a close friend in tow. Despite it being a trip for pleasure, she has a studio session booked that evening. “No matter where I go, I’m always gonna work,” she tells me.
This nonstop grind has paid dividends. Stephanie Victoria Allen, 28, known to friends and fans as Steff, is one of Britain’s biggest exports, according to the all- important stats: 5.78bn streams globally, 2.3bn streams on Apple Music alone, 444m views on Vevo, 1.2m subscribers on YouTube. But mainstream recognition eludes her in the UK, particularly when compared to some of her less commercially successful male counterparts.
