Photo: Emma Viola Lilja
To celebrate the release of his acclaimed debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer, Mc pioneer Stormzy decided to treat his fans to a few free shows across London on Friday with the help of Red Bull, because, why the hell not. Tweeting show locations just an hour before he was set to arrive, he had fans refreshing their feeds all day like crazed stalkers, eager to discover the next secret venue.
Location 1: Rhino Pitch, Camden
A couple hundred youngsters and twenty somethings have flooded onto Camden's rhino park astroturf pitch in hopes of seeing Stormzy on the biggest day of his music career, including a few kids who've definitely made the right move and bunked off school for the event.
"Yeah I'm supposed to be in at the moment. I've got to finish off my coursework."
I'm waiting with the rest of the crowd for Stormzy to emerge, stood behind YouTube’s FIFA and Chill presenters Poet and Vuj on a grass mound next to the pitch. Poet shouts, "Mans on Henman Hill for stormzy!"
As more and more people arrive during the almost hour long wait, the atmosphere gets a little restless, but then Stormzy’s big black van pulls up just in the nick of time. Greeted by huge cheers and applause, he’s ushered up the side of the pitch by his entourage in what feels like a boxers’ glorious walk out to the ring.
Grabbing the microphone and greeting the crowd, Stormzy can’t quite believe the day that he’s already having."Rahhhhh, this is mad. I was definitely not expecting this.”After getting a nice 360 degree Snapchat of the crowd, he storms through anthems “Big For Your Boots” and ”Shut Up” for a crowd that aren’t quite awake enough yet to appreciate what’s going on.
“Thanks to everyone that came down today, even if you were just walking by and thought who's this guy?”
Absolutely swarmed as he's leaving, Stormzy sticks around for a ridiculous number of selfies, fist bumps, "shut ups" and even a slightly bewildered baby who's being carried through the bustling crowd. A public football pitch feels like a great venue for this gifted artist to start his day off, because he's as humble as a walk in the park.
Location 2: 15 Bameas Street, St. James’s
In the heart of St James’s, 70 or so lucky fans are crammed into a tiny and hot warehouse space, only a singular spray painted GSAP hashtag adorning the wall as decoration. Just like the Camden show before, security are flying up and down the sides of the crowd, making sure that the path is clear for the imminent guest that everybody’s waiting for.
As I turn to look out of the window to my right, I’m greeted by a sea of confused professionals who are flooding onto the streets after work and wondering what’s going on. Then the black van pulls up behind them and the crowd bursts into life, Stormzy hopping out with his team and flying up the side of the tiny room as he bumps fists with fans and grins with complete glee.
Grabbing the mic, he pauses for a second before speaking. "Oh man, why do I still get nervous, I should be used to all of this by now." But the nerves quickly disappear when he plays album highlight “Cold”, encouraging the crowd to yell his ad-libs back at him and increase their energy tenfold.
With the DJ reloading the track at least four times and no barriers separating Stormzy from his charged up fans, the room explodes into a manic frenzy as bodies fly around and everybody shouts along, especially every time he spits this infamous line in reference to the crazy success of “Shut Up.” “Nah, them man are harmless / I just went to the park with my friends and I charted.”
The short and sharp show has the feel of a mini rave, and everybody is in awe after Stormzy blazes through “Big For Your Boots” before making his way back to the exit, constantly stopping to take selfies with adoring fans and looking genuinely overwhelmed by the love he’s receiving today.
Location 3: Box Park, Croydon
After a humble stroll through the park in Camden and then a mini warehouse rave in the centre of London, Stormzy chooses to close the night out in tremendous style by performing for the biggest crowd of the day in his home town of Croydon.
The atmosphere is electric as fans line up outside the venue, not quite sure what to expect from the night. When Stormzy finally emerges onto his first actual stage of the day, the venue is filled to the brim, fans pushing and surging forwards as others watch eagerly from the balcony above. “Make some fucking noise, Croydon!”
With every fan in attendance firmly in the palm of his hand after a humble and heartfelt thank you to all, Stormzy glides effortlessly through cuts like “Where Do You Know Me From”, “Cold” and “Big For Your Boots.” Just like before, the number of reloads are out of control in the best possible way, everybody in attendance reaching a powerful fever pitch of intensity that isn’t created by your average artist.
Finishing in epic style with ultimate crowd pleaser, “Shut Up”, Stormzy guides a singalong of the track’s infectious melody and brings proceedings to a calm but effective close. It’s been quite the day, and anybody who caught a glimpse of this fully fledged artist won’t be forgetting it in a hurry.
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