When Maya Jama dumped her rapper boyfriend, Stormzy, they cited ‘growing apart’ after ten years of being on-again-off-again and left fans heartbroken that music’s golden couple had split.

But could the reason that the Love Island host, 30, ditched her partner of five years, 31, be his significant fall from grace in the music industry?

Once hailed the King of Rap, the Mail on Sunday can reveal music insiders are now referring to Stormzy as the ‘Cliff Richard of hip hop’ after insisting he sing gospel on his latest album This Is What I Mean.

A meteoric rise to fame as a British rapper in 2014 earned him £24million and an impressive fan base and in 2020 he was poached by Universal Records from Warner for a staggering £10million.

Universal signed Stormzy so he could help the relaunch of its Def Jam label – once home to classic rap acts such as Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys – but it proved an expensive error.

The source continued: ‘What Universal hadn’t expected was that in his first album for them, Stormzy would insist on dropping his trademark hard rapping style and instead attempt to sing his way through an album of Christian-influenced songs.

‘People are now calling him the Cliff Richard of hip hop.

‘His new album was expected to provide the perfect launch pad for Universal’s new Def Jam label, but its poor performance is now being blamed for the decision in recent weeks to make big job cuts at the label.’

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Could the reason Love Island host Maya Jama ditched Stormz be his significant fall from grace in the music industry, insiders are wondering

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Stormzy is being dubbed the ‘Cliff Richard of hip hop’ after insisting he sing gospel on his latest album This Is What I Mean

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The couple had cited ‘growing apart’ after ten years of being on-again-off-again

Stormzy’s first album in 2017, Gang Signs and Prayer, sold 310,000 copies, followed by his most popular 2019 to date, Heavy is the Head, which sold 320,000 albums worldwide.

Both were rap albums that went Platinum but This Is What I Mean, a gospel-led sound, went to number one but only sold 60,000 copies, dwarfed in comparison to his previous projects.

Meanwhile, Stormzy’s most recent single, Backbone, with the DJ duo, Chase and Status, in which he returns to his hard rap style has sold 400,000 copies and shot to number one.

Fans of his earlier British rap felt alienated by the latest gospel led album and slammed the artist for doing, ‘The exact opposite of what we wanted from him’.

One person wrote on X: ‘I am a huge Stormzy fan, but there are two songs I’d go back on there for. The album nearly put me to sleep and I only snapped out of it after putting on Heavy Is The Head.’

Last year, Stormzy released a statement with his childhood sweetheart, the TV presenter Maya Jama, announcing they had decided to part ways for good.

They wrote: ‘We decided to try for the final time in August 2023 and we’ve spent this past year trying our best to work. This final attempt required a whole lot of figuring out, relearning. But we still think of the absolute world of one another.’

While Ms Jama has gone on to present ITV2’s hit show Love Island and is reportedly dating the Manchester City footballer Reuban Dias.

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The Love Island host is reportedly dating Manchester City footballer Reuban Dias

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Stormzy’s most recent single, Backbone, with the DJ duo, Chase and Status, in which he returns to his hard rap style has sold 400,000 copies and shot to number one

Meanwhile, Stormzy is said to be dating the religious American Rhythm and Blues singer, Victoria Monet, and has continued to be ‘focusing on God’.

Prior to their relationship, ahead of his gospel album the rapper in 2022 said: ‘I’ve been definitely focusing on my relationship with God.

‘I’ve made that a priority, to get close to God and try to be a greater man of God. I’m not the finished product.

‘My dogs mean a lot to me, they’re a big part of my life, I’ve just been walking them twice a day.’