Stormzy – Gang Signs & Prayer review: the grime crown is his

The London rapper presents fast-paced bragging on a wide-ranging debut album
Fast-tracked to stardom: Stormzy takes the grime crown with his long-awaited debut
Gareth Cattermole/Getty
David Smyth24 February 2017

With a dark as hell take on the Last Supper on the cover and the cocky, rival-smashing singles Shut Up and Big For Your Boots paving the way, 6ft5in Michael Omari Jr looks like the bad boy of grime as his debut album arrives.

But there’s much more to this wide-ranging collection than that.

This man mountain sings in a low croon and outlines his Christian faith on Blinded by Your Grace. On 100 Bags he puts his mother on a pedestal.

While there’s still plenty of the fast-paced, witty bragging that fast-tracked him to stardom, it’s on the closing Lay Me Bare that he really surprises, displaying palpable anger towards his estranged father.

“Give me the crown, man, I want that,” he raps on Bad Boys. Have it, Stormzy.

(#Merky)

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