Rappers old people should know — Stormzy
For the next artist in this series, older hip-hop fans should listen to an artist from the other side of the Atlantic. The rapper who has arguably lead the movement of Grime rappers gaining mainstream acceptance — Stormzy.
Who is Stormzy? A UK grime rapper from the UK.
What album should you listen to? His only album released so far is Gang Signs and Prayers. Additionally, Stormzy has 2 EPs: Dreamers Disease and Not That Deep.
Gang Signs and Prayers represents a fully matured artist who easily navigates urban music while making considerations for a wider audience. Stormzy does this, while maintaining his authenticity to the streets that he comes from. At the same time, Stormzy finds ways to add innovation to the sub-genre of rap that he built his rep in.
That said, Gang Signs and Prayers isn’t where you should start. Your best intro to Stormzy is his Youtube channel. Youtube is where he initially built his career. Why? Out of necessity. During the period of time that Stormzy was on the rise, black music in the UK was heavily regulated.
Laws were passed that forced promoters to get special licenses just to put on live shows in bars. Those licenses were used by police to identify venues that allowed black performers on their stages. With that knowledge, police put pressure on those venues to not host events featuring grime and other urban music, for unjustified reasons. With venues being pressured by police, and fearing that their liquor licenses were under threat, grime was pushed to underground spaces, and small side stages at festivals.
The rise of Stormzy — not only revived a music that had at one point reached an acceptance within the UK’s music community thanks to talents like Kano, and Dizzee Rascal — by mastering platforms like Youtube and social media, artists from his generation of grime forced their way into the UK’s mainstream. Heck, Big Narstie has his own variety comedy show! That’s a far cry from a genre being pushed to unlicensed underground spaces by racially charged police pressures.
Through Stormzy’s Youtube channel you can witness his growth. From music videos with his crew, rapping over beats playing in the background. To him walking through his community with his mom in a slightly more polished production. Finally, you can witness him shooting full on professional productions in the same streets that supported his growth.
That said, Gang Signs and Prayers is a genuine tour de force. In a microwave culture where songs are getting shorter, albums are getting shorter, and music production is getting shaky, Stormzy’s album does everything in an album that hip-hop fans from the 90’s demand in their listening. It’s an authentic, well thought, passionate opus to the streets that raised him. Acknowledging the things that kept him out of prison. It’s an honest, skillfully performed, well produced, well thought album which I strongly recommend.
