Grime star Stormzy is back, and in a huge way. We haven’t heard from the MC in a couple of years, but he’s just dropped his new single, Vossi Bop, and there’s sure to be a lot more music on the way. While we’re waiting for more music from Stormzy, though, it’s time to have a look at his back catalogue – and look at some of the tunes you may have missed.
Stormzy - Shut Up
While it eventually found its way onto his debut album, Shut Up is still arguably Stormzy’s biggest song – and it originated as a freestyle released in May 2015. As Stormzy would put it in a later song, “I went to the park with my friends and I charted”, as the song reached number 8 on the UK charts. Given Stormzy started out on YouTube posting freestyles, it was only a matter of time before one of his freestyles took off.
The song was filmed in a South London car park, and features a beat made by XTC back in 2004 – in just half an hour. Speaking about the beat to Red Bull, XTC said "One morning before I was meant to go college, I woke up and I just had this little melody in my head. I got on the computer and laid it down. Before anyone else in the house had woken up I'd finished the track." Not bad for a morning’s work!
Stormzy – Scary
Scary might be Stormzy’s most visceral track. Everything from the lyrics, delivery, beat and video hit right at the heart of the matter, and was Stormzy’s hiatus announcement. It was a signal to the rest of the competition that they better start getting to work, because Stormzy’s about to reach the next phase of his career; up until this point, he hasn’t been anywhere near operating at 100%.
In many ways, the impact that his album had was based off this track – no one knew what to expect, but whatever it was going to be, it was worth listening to. And while the album may not have been as visceral, or as hard as this track – it made sure that he would be around to stay. Not bad for someone that many were falling over themselves to paint as overrated.
read more: Stormzy Vs Skepta: Battle Of The Grime Lords
Stormzy - Standard
Standard is a Stormzy highlight, sitting in the grime throne which is now his. Released in 2015, it was a victory lap of sorts, celebrating a year where WickedSkengMan4 reached Top 20 in the UK charts, he appeared on BBC's Fire In The Booth and won his second MOBO Award (Music Of Black Origin) - a hell of a big deal for a grime MC, a genre not always recognised by the UK media – and in some cases, outright demonised. Stormzy weaves between aggression and finesse on this track, a staple of his career, and a demonstration of his range which is somewhat unrivalled by his peers.
Stormzy - One Take Freestyle
Stormzy takes a swipe at the BRITs in this Rude Kid-produced response freestyle, with a music video filmed in Tokyo. He called out the BRITs after none of his peers were nominated for an award, even after dominating the charts – an issue that has gained widespread attention from the British music industry, with Lily Allen posting on Facebook in 2016 saying, "[They] are all unsigned artists, who would gain from them winning anything? In fact them being nominated or even winning poses a direct threat to 'music industry figures'. Imagine Skepta or Stormzy won, who would they thank in their speeches, whose ego would get massaged?"
Stormzy also mocked heavyweight boxer Dillian Whyte, who said he’d knock Stormzy out. He responded by playing the audio from Whyte’s losing fight with Anthony Joshua, which saw Stormzy perform Shut Up before the bout.
Stormzy – Fire in the Booth
Stormzy’s Fire In The Booth has over 12 million views on YouTube, and for good reason. Released back in 2014, Fire In The Booth is seen as a milestone for any British MC, and Stormzy brought his A-game. Featuring 8 minutes of bars, Stormzy is at his most lyrical and aggressive. Asking “What's a washed up vet to a student?”, he signalled his intentions to take over the grime game and then made it a reality. Charlie Sloth, the man behind Fire In The Booth, has given a platform for countless MCs to showcase themselves, so when Stormzy got his chance to show himself to arguably his largest audience instead, there was no way he was going to miss it.