STORMZY - Heavy Is The Head

I could never die

I'm Chuck Norris

Fuck the government

And Fuck Boris

(from "Vossi Bop")

With just one album, Stormzy rose to superstar status; with just one album, Stormzy ended up on the Pyramid, Glastonbury Festival's main stage, reserved for the select, chosen few. You can find him on magazine covers, proof of how much he's becoming an absolute leading figure of his generation, and he's long been one of the most authoritative voices for understanding and analysing the new British rap. The hugely anticipated second act, "Heavy Is The Head", is the record of an artist who has since become rich, inevitably losing (by his own admission) part of his anger. It's a shrewd record, very well built to achieve massive success.

Banksy became infatuated with his music, designed the bulletproof vest emblazoned with the Union Jack that he wore at Glastonbury, and created the iconic album cover, which was put on display in real time at the National Portrait Gallery. But when, listening through the record, autotune and a chart-smashing duet with Ed Sheeran show up ("Own It" is the pair's third collaboration), the intent to cash in as much as possible becomes clear.

There might be nothing wrong with any of this, were it not for the fact that Stormzy is still very young (born in 1993) and comes from Croydon, a sprawling and troubled borough in South London, hardly the best place to grow up and live. We'd have expected a result that was, on average, angrier from someone who, at least in his statements to the press (most recently accusing the English of racism), still continues to position himself in opposition.

The anger is still there, so are the invectives, particularly fierce against Boris Johnson on the massive hit "Vossi Bop", but the overall atmosphere ends up sweetened by tracks that tend toward mediation, letting the romantic side and inner reflection balance out the overall mood. It's an album designed to reach everyone, in which the trade-off between being a hyper-adored niche phenomenon (like Idles on the white rock side) or becoming a superstar idolised by the masses has tipped the scales toward the latter option.

The heavy crown Stormzy places on his own head is worn as if he genuinely believes he's the best, with no trace of irony. The lyrics are at times intensely self-celebratory, with references to Glasto, to the covers that showcase his statuesque, athletic physique, to the accolades he's racked up (first and foremost two Brit Awards and a Mercury Prize nomination), and to his most prestigious appearances.

When Banksy put the vest on me

Felt like God was testin' me

(from "Audacity")

On "Wiley Flow" (a tribute to Wiley, one of grime's pioneers, who often supported him on his rise to success), Stormzy declares himself "the greatest of all time". The record tries to prove it, displaying a good range of moods: from the epic scale of the opener "Big Michael" to the gospel elements of "Crown", all the way to the more vulnerable side, shown without filters on "Lessons", dedicated to ex-girlfriend Maya Jama, where Stormzy seems to acknowledge his own responsibility for the end of the relationship, which broke down last August, reportedly as the result of infidelity.

Adding further grandeur are the numerous featured guests: Tottenham rapper Headie One on "Audacity", Tiana Major9 on "Rainfall", but above all H.E.R., who lends r&b softness to "One Second", a back-and-forth conversation about the distortions the media impose on the statements of famous figures, especially when it comes to political opinions.

"Heavy Is The Head" was well received by critics, both in the UK and across the globe, and flew straight to number two on the British charts, dethroning every conceivable and imaginable Christmas album except Rod Stewart's, which held firm at the top. But in 2019 we found at least two other English records from the same scene more exciting, both debuts: the one by Slowthai (the most punk-rock of British rappers) and the one by the very promising Little Simz.

On "Top Boy" Stormzy declares he hasn't sold out to the mainstream, but the choice to balance protest with intimacy, combined with certain rockstar-like attitudes, clashes with a London where social issues are boiling over, stabbings are an everyday occurrence, and the risks of terrorism are felt everywhere.

But the Stormzy phenomenon is now important to the entire British entertainment industry, every bit as much as an Adele or an Ed Sheeran: in an age of post-Brexit isolationism, with a market at risk of being boycotted from abroad, the UK is counting on them too to keep its prestige, GDP and exports running high.

Old England hopes it can once again confirm itself as a nation capable of pointing the way forward, unwilling to let Trump's America be the only one in the role of world leader. Boris Johnson won a landslide in the General Election right as "Heavy Is The Head" was released, the exit from the European Union is now truly just around the corner: let's see what scenarios the next decade, now at the doorstep, has in store for us...

Nigga, you can’t test me, I’m the G.O.A.T. *

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28/12/2019