Deputy Editor Jasmine Sandhar previews Stormzy’s upcoming and long awaited Heavy Is The Head tour
Content Warning: mentions of systemic racism
After a long year of anticipation, the king of grime and three-time Brit Award winner Stormzy has announced that he will be going ahead with his Heavy Is The Head (h.i.t.h) world tour this Spring. Since his debut album Gang Signs & Prayer in 2017, which immediately peaked at number one on the UK charts and won British Album of the Year, Stormzy has only released one more studio album: Heavy Is the Head (2019). Full of bold political lyrical statements that float over genre-bending instrumentals, this tour – which was originally scheduled to take place in 2021 – promises to be an unapologetic reign of power.
Promises to bring an unmatched regal dynamic of black power to some of the UK’s best music venues
In a world of systemic racism, right-wing ideology often vilifies grime artists as promoting antisocial behaviour and gang violence, which was seen as detrimental to British society. However, in a movement of rappers spearheaded by Stormzy, grime became a voice for the voiceless. In a similar vein to how 90s gangsta rap provided the poorer, working-class African-American communities of areas like Compton, California, with an opportunity to express their hardships, grime has become a global platform for oppressed individuals to speak out about their experiences in a way that they can feel heard. This is evident from Stormzy’s music, which is full of lyrical bombshells, such as ‘LBC’s tryna black ball me / And tryna blame your boy for knife crime’ and ‘Fuck the government and fuck Boris.’
During the summer of last year, Stormzy headlined Reading Festival, putting on an unforgettable performance that momentously finished with him bringing out Dave (who is set to headline London’s Wireless Festival this upcoming year) for a live rendition of their collaboration ‘Clash.’
Stormzy’s intricate textual interplay as can be seen through tracks like ‘Superheroes’ and ‘Do Better,’ which sits over thunderous bass lines like in ‘Handsome’ and ‘Crown,’ as well as countless anthems that combine various genres ranging from hip-hop and dancehall to jungle and electronic music. With all of this in mind, it is clear that the h.i.t.h promises to bring an unmatched regal dynamic of black power to some of the UK’s best music venues, beginning in Cardiff on the 13th of March.
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