Grime artist Stormzy beats Rag 'n Bone man to top spot in album chart race

Grime artist Stormzy has scored the number 1 spot on the official albums chart with his debut studio album Gang Signs and Prayer.

In a race to the coveted top spot with Rag'n'Bone Man, the pair were neck-and-neck but Stormzy - whose real name is Michael Omari - claimed pole position with combined chart sales of 69,000, according to Official Charts Company data.

Described as the first "pure grime" album to top the UK charts, Stormzy also has seven tracks featuring in the Official Chart.

The London-based artist racked up the most first-week streams for a Number 1 album in chart history, surpassing the opening week of Drake and even surpassing the first-week streams of Justin Bieber.

The album has also set a new standard in the grime music scene, with Gang Signs & Prayer selling faster than Skepta's Konnichiwa, Kano's Made in the Manor and Giggs' Landlord. Tinie Tempah's Disc-Overy is the only other Grime-influenced record to hold the top spot.

His show-stopping collaboration with Ed Sheeran at the Brit Awards, where they performed a remix of Sheeran's Shape Of You, was perhaps a contributing factor in Stormzy's unprecedented chart success.

Celebrating his success Stormzy told OfficialCharts.com: "It hasn't sunk in yet. Honestly, I wish I could take every person who bought and streamed the album out with me, have dinner with them, dedicate a whole night to them. I don't take your support for granted. I can't thank you enough."