Early on Friday morning, as the wind bellowed and rain poured across London, something bigger had landed: Stormzy released his debut album Gang Signs And Prayer.
By the morning the terrible weather had subsided and the sun was shining for the first time in a while. Before the afternoon had arrived however, another Storm was brewing…
At half 11 Big Mike took to Twitter to announce the first of a handful of surprise pop-up shows across London. Luckily, we had the jump the night before, so set out to chase him as he made history.
The first location was in Camden and we arrived early at the suspected scene, where a group of staff were setting up. They were pitching up a speaker system and decks in a tennis court, a nervous energy in the air.
Despite only an hours notice in the middle of a working day, it didn’t take long for an immense crowd to begin amassing in the sports court. Middle aged women walking dogs, geezers on their work break, young children skipping school who were being ushered to the front; Stormzy’s reach and power across all types of people had never been more evident.
He arrived nearly an hour beyond the scheduled time, but it didn’t matter to the crowd, who had patiently waited and vibesed to a warm up set of New Gen, Little Simz and more. They cheered vociferously when Stormz rolled through with Flipz, Tiiny and co. They skanked when he performed “Big For Your Boots” and the original fire in the park “Shut Up”. They jostled to get in frame when he rounded everybody up for a group SnapChat.
But the energy and turn up was over almost as soon as it had begun. He posed for pictures and spoke to fans who were desperate to see the Wicked Skengman on his own day, but Stormzy was quickly back in his blacked out transit with the #MERKY team and on the move again. It was time for us to move.
After a quick pitstop in the local pub to charge phones and grab a glass of rum, we swiftly rode a couple tube stops into Central London and onwards to the next location, just after Stormzy had announced it on Twitter.
It was another bizarre location, with the set up going on inside a disused office space in the middle of Piccadilly, but we were certain this was the right place this time around. A small queue had already started forming, despite the even shorter notice. We duly joined the back of it.
There was a strict 60 person capacity and the venue was soon locked off with a few disappointed fans stranded outside. We were inside the building though and boy, was there energy.
The intimate settings gassed the crowd up to a next level, as they swarmed around Stormzy as he readied himself to perform. Security tried to swat them backwards, but he embraced them: “Nah, let them come, they’re here with me today,” he declared. He kicked things off with with a rendition of album stand out “Cold”, surrounded by a mosh pit, before getting just as hyped for “Big For Your Boots” once more.
The explosion of vigour and enthusiasm was again short and sweet. He and his crew ducked out of the venue, into the car and drove onwards for a final time. It was time for his homecoming.
We headed south and into Croydon Boxpark, where a Friday night buzz was already in full swing. A much longer crowd snaked out the front door of the venue and security stop and searches were ensuring the huge turn out got in safely. A much larger stage was set.
The atmosphere inside had reached a peak as DJ Tiiny warmed up the crowd with some modern UK classics, like “Dun Talkin” and “Don’t Waste My Time”. It wasn’t long before Stormzy emerged, already performing, down the side of the venue and made his way to the stage. The crowd screamed like a superstar in the building. He was.
Stormzy shut down the extended set as the proud South Londoners lapped up every bar and spat it right back at him in full voice. His boys surrounded him on stage and it was clearly a real moment for both the fans inside and the man himself.
Thank you Young Legend Stormzy. Here’s to more success.
Photography from Red Bull Content Pool