Stormzy made history with an explosive headline set on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2019.
The grime star became the first British rapper to headline the world-famous music festival on Friday 28 June, with a performance that included guest appearances from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, and fellow MCs Dave and Fredo.
As expected following an announcement by the BBC, Stormzy’s set was uncensored and included a stand-out line from his single “Vossi Bop”: “F*** the government and f*** Boris.”
Elsewhere, he sampled a speech by Labour MP David Lammy, who responded with a tweet: “Stormzy using his headline spot at #glastonburyfestival2019 to speak out about the injustice of young black kids being criminalised in a biased and disproportionate justice system. Humbled and inspired that he sampled my speech. Salute #Merky.”
Stormzy also featured a gospel choir for his song “Blinded By Your Grace”, dance troupes, and a special shout out his fellow artists, from established grime pioneers such as Wiley and Skepta to future stars including AJ Tracey, Ms Banks, Yxng Bane and Stefflon Don.
“This is the greatest night of my entire life. Who’s got energy today?” he asked the thousands of people watching his show.
For his grand finale he closed on “Big For Your Boots”, the track from his Brit Award-winning, record-breaking debut album Gang Signs & Prayer.
The liveblog is now closed
That’s all from me for tonight, what a performance to end on, it’s been an absolute pleasure.
The spiritual anthem “Blinded by Your Grace Part 2” is followed up by a blistering rendition of “Big for Your Boots”. This track launched Stormzy into the mainstream back in 2017 and it remains his biggest tune. Wit and rhythm, it’s everything you could ever want in a Grime track.
In case you missed Dave and Fredo’s guest appearance during Stormzy’s scorching Glasto set:
Stormzy hasn’t taken as many pops at politicians as he could have. Instead, he’s chosen to celebrate black British culture, from ballet to grime. What’s more, he’s promising that there’s more to come, reeling off lists of artists to listen out for. He apologises for any of the names he’s forgotten, but I’d say he’s given a pretty impressive list if anyone wants to broaden their horizons.
Special guest number three (and four) are rap ingenues Dave and Fredo. Poignantly, Stormzy makes pains to state that their single is the first pure rap song to go straight to number one. He’s followed it up with the second pure rap song to do the same, Vossi Bop.
“This is the greatest night of my entire life” says Stormzy as he tears up the stage at the world’s most iconic music festival.
Stormzy’s performance is set to have more celebrity cameos than the later seasons of Friends. We’ve already had Raleigh Ritchie, and now Chris Martin with a gentle duet of “Blinded By Your Grace”. Who knows which A-lister is going to rock up on the Pyramid Stage next.
Here’s a peak at that stunning ballet performance during Stormzy’s history-making headline performance:
It’s not just crime on the streets of London. Stormzy is also drawing attention to other issues, and how far attitudes towards race have evolved even in the last few years. White privilege pervades every level of society – even in ballet, where shoes have only just became available in different skin tones. Some lyric ballet dancing with a light show was such a poignant way to celebrate this while Stormzy nipped off for a quick costume change.
Not to mention Raleigh Ritchie (aka Game of Thrones’s Grey Worm) has made the first cameo of the set.
Worthy Farm has been electrified by Stormzy’s presence, they are enraptured. It’s clear thought that knife crime is the focal point of this set. To build on the message of the stab-proof vest, he’s kicked off “First Things First” with some crime stats sampled from one of Tottenham MP’s David Lammy’s speeches. That claustrophobic backing track just adds to the anger and power of this performance.
Stormzy has burst on to the stage in a stab-proof vest embellished with a union jack. Before he’s even opened his mouth he’s combined politics and patriotism in one gesture.
Jo Whiley has just lived the more timid BBC Two viewers that this is not just a live, but “live live” which means there might be some strong language. What she didn’t mention is that there might be some searing political commentary to go with it.
Stormzy, who is headlining the first night of the festival, is currently promoting “Vossi Bop”, the first single from his forthcoming second album, which includes the line: “F*** the government and f*** Boris.”
Stormzy is about to take to the Pyramid Stage for his history-making set as Glastonbury’s first black British headliner. He’s still found time to tweet about another success though: “CROWN straight into the Top 5 thank you guys and thank God, 2 singles in the top 5 and reunited with my brother Ed”.
Here’s Roisin O’Connor’s take on Michael Kiwanka, “who’s killing it over on the Park Stage, with funk-laden grooves and a superb band, recalling Kamasi Washington with the set’s ethereal female chorus and sprawling, technically brilliant jams.”
Roisin O’Connor has weighed in on the incontrovertibly uncontroversial George Ezra:
“George Ezra is literally impossible to hate. He’s just too nice. And not like an Ed Sheeran kind of nice, like “I’m just a normal bloke who you see hanging out with Elton John and 50 Cent”. He’s naturally down-to-Earth and completely charming, with a catalogue of uplifting pop songs that are perfect both for Glastonbury and also such splendid weather.”
Latest dispatch from Anna Leskiewicz in the field:
“The utterly inexplicable gramophone on stage at George Ezra pumping out deliberately frazzled vocals unfortunately emphasises the more twee aspects of his brand – but by the time he’s pumping out brass-backed summer bangers like Paradise, I’m past the point of smug cynicism.”
The 24-year-old Ezra has taken the airwaves by storm, appealing to a Radio 2 audience in particular with his feel good tunes. His album Staying at Tamara’s might have been dismissed as “unchallenging” by some critics, but it was the best selling album of 2018. There’s not denying that this troubadour knows how to write an ear worm.
See all the best pictures from Glastonbury here.
