FEATURE:
Heavy in the Head
Stormzy and the Pressures of Fame
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WITH a new album out…
IN THIS PHOTO: Stormzy at Glastonbury this year/PHOTO CREDIT: Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty
and picking up some big reviews, one might think that Stormzy is on top of the world. Let’s have a look back at a year which has seen the Grime king take to the Glastonbury stage. Stormzy’s headline slot from earlier in the year must go down as one of the most important and explosive sets ever. It did seem like the country could turn a corner and, with such a powerful performer stunning thousands, many believed that Stormzy’s energy and sermons could bring about political change. Although the General Election did not go the way of Labour, I think Stormzy got a lot of people voting and engaged. Many felt Stormzy was unprepared for a Glastonbury headline slot, considering he had only released one album, Gang Signs & Prayer in 2017. There was a lot of criticism aimed his way and, after such a festival-defining headline set, few were left in any doubt regarding Stormzy’s credentials! Alongside the rise to fame is the sort of toxicity that never goes away from social media. Stormzy receives more than his share of flack, and there are plenty of people taking jabs and putting him down. Some might say that is part of the business, but there is never any excuse for abuse and the kind of things artists like Stormzy have to read on a daily basis. The sudden rise to prominence seems like a dream for any artist but, when we think of the reality, it is not always so rosy.
Every artist wants recognition and to get their work out there. When you sort of go from this promising young rapper to someone who is on the cover of magazines and being courted by the media, that can get a bit much. Music this year has been incredible, and I think a lot of artists have been very brave when it comes to documenting mental-health struggles and using music as a platform to talk about big issues. It would be tempting to hide the pressure of fame and the sort of attention, positive and negative, Stormzy receives. On Friday, Stormzy put out his second album, Heavy Is the Head. It is an album that has plenty of bold and brash moments from a man that is not short on confidence and ability. Rather unexpectedly, Stormzy talks about the weight of fame:
“But it’s not all triumph and it hasn’t been an easy ascent to the head of the kingdom. The album is just as much a requiem for the huge pressures and responsibilities that come with his platform. On the record’s lead single, “Crown”, Stormzy surveys his realm and ruminates on how his attempts for good -- namely his scholarship for young BAME students to attend Oxbridge -- have been misjudged or twisted by the media. On recent release “Audacity”, meanwhile, which features Headie One, Stormzy also clashes with the heretics who have the audacity to come for him.
H.I.T.H is nothing if not multilayered. For every defiant bar which epitomises the grime star’s public-facing image, there's another that looks a little deeper. He's still the Stormzy we know from the razorsharp days of “Shut Up”, cautioning others to mind the throne; but at the same time he reflects on his own struggles with anxiety, depression and mental health. Recently, during an appearance on the Jonathan Ross show, Stormz revealed that he was devastated after his headline performance at Glastonbury and cried inconsolably when he thought he’d messed up his sound levels. On “Audacity” he briefly touches on that, rapping “When Banksy put the vest on me / Felt like God was testing me”. But on a later track “One Second” featuring H.E.R, he laments on becoming “the poster boy for mental health”. Against H.E.R’s haunting vocals of hope and struggle, the track is pared-back, almost choral, a naked and introspective look at the pressures of fame”.
I can appreciate the fact artists like Stormzy are synonymous with an element of braggadocio and self-hype. They are competing with other MCs, and there is always going to be grief from his competition. It is the additional load of social media abuse and pressure that can really do damage. I am sure Stormzy has always wanted adulation and praise, but he has seen his profile rise hugely over the past year or so. I will go on to look at the pressure of fame in a bit, but I wonder whether there is catharsis in putting pen to paper and letting it out. Stormzy’s latest album nods to his success and how he has risen through the ranks but, on the other side, there is the darkness and downside of fame.
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images Europe
This review from The Guardian talks about the contrasts on the album:
“Britain is currently teeming with fantastic MCs, but Stormzy is the only one your dad knows the name of. In the two years since the release of his debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer, he has become a boundary-crossing figure in British cultural life. Not only is he able to take a single as uncommercial as the dark, minimal Vossi Bop to No 1, but he has translated his commercial success into roles as a philanthropist, publisher and activist with enough clout to have his opinions raised by those interviewing the prime minister. He has attracted praise not just from the usual sources but from the vice-chancellor of Cambridge University and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has said he prepares for officiating major events by listening to Stormzy’s 2017 single Blinded By Your Grace: neither are figures noted for their in-depth knowledge of freestyles, diss tracks and Lord of the Mics clashes.
Of course, an MC’s success isn’t dependent on establishment approval. Nevertheless, no other figure in UK rap history has achieved anything like this. Understandably, Heavy Is the Head begins in triumphal style: the brassy fanfare of Big Michael heralds lyrics that enumerate Stormzy’s achievements and tell his rivals where to get off in characteristic style (“Suck your mum”). But the celebratory mood lasts only two tracks, before the album’s emotional temperature plummets.
But the picture Stormzy paints of stardom is a pretty bleak one; an unremitting parade of jealous friends, unwarranted criticism, ever-increasing numbers of enemies and damage to his mental and physical health, in which the only consolation, luxury Swiss watches aside, comes from a combination of regularly skinning up and religious faith. “Holy blood of Christ,” he says on the wracked Do Better, “you never let me down.”
You do sometimes wonder if he wouldn’t be better off leaving Twitter and ignoring the comments sections rather than scanning them for slights. The kind of when’s-International-Men’s-Day? Dimwit who takes to social media to decry as racist Stormzy’s bursary to help underprivileged black kids study at Cambridge is probably best ignored rather than responded to in song”.
Whilst it might seem easy for you and me to watch an artist like Stormzy and assume that he has a pretty good life, I don’t think we understand just how scrutinised and under the microscope. Maybe there was a naivety from Stormzy about how big he had become and how influential he was. One of the downsides of so much press focus is the impact it had on his relationship with Maya Jama. This BBC feature explains more:
“Stormzy also said he's had to come to terms with his personal life being in the public eye.
An emotional song called Lessons on his new album addresses the end of his four-year relationship with Maya Jama.
They stopped dating in the summer. In the interview, he suggested the split was the result of "a public disrespect that needed a public apology".
IN THIS PHOTO: Maya Jama and Stormzy/PHOTO CREDIT: Anton Corbijn for Vogue, February 2018
He explained how it was "surreal" to see everything play out in the media, and that he wanted his album to be a body of work people could listen to and "understand exactly where I'm at in life".
Looking back on his relationship, he said: "It's the deepest thing... I've ever been involved in or the heaviest my heart's ever felt.
"For any proper supporter of mine... it would have been like 'yeah but that thing came out and it was never addressed'".
He said the song was "totally new territory" and that he'll use the experience "to become a better man".
"I will whole heartedly say that that's a phenomenal woman who love man wholeheartedly, gave man everything and you disrespected and was inconsiderate.
"I tried to communicate to her through my art".
Artists like Stormzy command so much respect and love. When things do get a bit heavy, it can be hard explaining that or taking a step back. Not only will his new album speak to others who are feeling pressure in life; it proves that artists are using music more and more to go beyond the obvious. They are opening up and showing that there is no stigma regarding mental-health and being open. Stormzy recently spoke with Jonathan Ross and talked about the past couple of years:
"In the past two years, I've been in a kind of mind state where it's been super overwhelming for me and I've found it super terrifying. I used to shy away from it," he tells U.K. chat show host Jonathan Ross. "When people would say 'role model' I used to say 'You've got the wrong man'."
Stormzy, real name Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo, Jr., says he has spoken to pals and had therapy and has grown into his position as a star.
"I've been to therapy, I talk to my friends... I'll be brutally honest, there are times I'll get super low, I'll get super depressed and I will shut myself off from the world, I'll do stupid things that no one should do, I'll stay in my house and I'll smoke, I'll not answer my phone," he explains. "But as I'm growing older, I'm learning how to deal with things."
However, he still admits to struggling with his dual role in life - but sees it as part of being a normal man as well as someone people look up to.
"Most days I am super up for all the duties I've taken on myself and everything I know God has lined up for me, I'm super ready and I'm in my element and I'm ready to bite all the bullets and stand on the front line and do whatever is needed," he explains. "But a lot of the times I just feel like I'm a normal man, I get bad road rage, I'm very flawed, I'm super normal, I'm a person".
On Friday morning, Stormzy spoke with Dotty on the BBC 1Xtra Breakfast Show about coming to terms with fame and how he is sort of embracing the goods and bads. Ironically, a fantastic second albums means there will be a lot of new attention the way of Stormzy. I think it is brave and commendable to talk about pressure and the less welcome side of fame. Let’s hope 2020 allows Stormzy a few moments to unwind and find some peace because, since the start of this year, his feet have barely touched the floor! It can be hard avoiding what is written on social media or finding space among a hectic schedule. On Heavy Is the Head, Stormzy explores the weight of pressure, but he also realises that he has a lot of followers behind him. The General Election did not go the way he (and many) hoped, yet Stormzy has activated a lot of young voters and is an inspiration. He is a role model to so many out there and is one of the brightest stars in the musical sky. Stormzy is a king who...
WEARS the crown proudly.