Stormzy - Heavy is the Head

  by Zena Grieg

published: 17 / 3 / 2020

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Review

Since the release of his award-winning, platinum-selling debut album ‘Gang Signs and Prayer’ in 2017, Stormzy has become a major boundary-crossing figure in UK culture, taking on roles as publisher, activist and philanthropist, influencing even establishment figures such as the Archbishop of Canterbury! This new album takes its name from Stormzy’s ‘Crown’ song lyrics – “Heavy is the Head/That wears the crown”, after a Shakespeare quote ('Henry IV'). The 16-track LP includes recent singles ‘Vossi Bop’ and ‘Wiley Flow’, as well as guest appearances by Tiana Major9, H.E.R., Ed Sheeran, Aitch, Burna Boy, Yebba, and Headie One. The burden and responsibility of fame is the leitmotif running through ‘Heavy is the Head’. An eclectic audio texture shapes this exploration with soft rock in ‘Lessons’ - a depiction of a failed relationship with its sharply honest and vulnerable lyrics. The R&B piano ballad ‘Crown’ reflects on the darker side of success. Experiences of therapy and unease about his role as a political figure are expressed in the more American-sounding ‘One Second’. There is Afrobeat and pop in ‘Own It’ and ‘Rainfall’ and jazz and Latino influences elsewhere. Throughout there is a plethora of different musical accompaniments including acoustic guitars, strings, choirs and brass bands, which gives a striking juxtaposition with Stormzy’s uncompromising lyrics. "I’m the king of grime by default" Stormzy declares in ‘Bronze’, but this inventive, existential and experimental album does more than consolidate his stature in the UK music arena and beyond, reaching out to even wider audiences.

Track Listing:-

1 Big Michael
2 Audacity (feat. Headie One)
3 Crown
4 Rainfall (feat. Tiana Major9)
5 Rachael's Little Brother
6 Handsome
7 Do Better
8 Don't Forget to Breathe (feat. YEBBA)
9 One Second (feat. H.E.R.)
10 Pop Boy (feat. Aitch)
11 Own It (feat. Ed Sheeran & Burna Boy)
12 Wiley Flow
13 Bronze
14 Superheroes
15 Lessons
16 Vossi Bop