The Return of Big Mike.

First things first, I'd like to say Gang Signs & Prayer is one of the best albums of 2017 so far.

If you've been ghosting for the last couple of days lemme catch you up, Stormzy a.k.a The Problem a.k.a Wicked Skengman a.k.a Big Mike dropped his debut album; Gang Signs & Prayer after a long, well needed (because this album was clearly months and months of hard work) break from the grime scene. Now before I go any further Stormzy a couple of days before his album dropped performed at the Brits with fellow friends and one of the most talented musicians to come out of Britain: Ed Sheeran. They performed a remix of shape of you together and it was… in fact lemme describe it like this you know when you're at a DEAD motive and everyone's just babysitting the walls then a banger comes on (let's say Sneakbo – Touch Ah Button). Yeah that feeling right there? That's how I felt watching their performance. To be honest with you; the half-hearted attempt by the Brits to acknowledge grime's status in British music this year after backlash from last year was poor! But that's a discussion for another day…

But back to the album, Gang Signs and prayer is like a journey through Stormzy's life so far. From the gang and drug related problems he faced as a teenager growing up in south London; to the reason he keeps trying to better himself and who he owes every blessing in his life to. It's the perfect blend between gospel and grime. The lyrical excellence, the sharp flow and production just show how time and effort were put into the album; and how it truly paid off. Do you wanna know what even amazes me more? The variety of features on GSAP and other artists who influenced this album. Honestly who would've thought Stormzy and MNEK would ever do a track together or that Lily Allen would make a cameo (in Cigarettes and Cush). And of course, he threw in some classic features like Ghetts, Wretch 32 and J Hus (who btw is really proving himself a force to be reckoned with this year). I think Stormzy’s really developed as an artist over the past year and it's very evident in this piece of work. He's allowed himself to experiment with his voice and beats on his song (the beats aspect being obvious within this album). The album kind of reminds me of Coloring Book, in the sense that they both include "gospel influenced" tracks that mesh so well into the album's message. But Stormzy has this certain ability of making you come close to tears in one song then go full skengman in the next (and yes both blinded by your grace nearly brought me to tears). But isn't it a positive thing when music causes you to feel something? A lot of music being released is just something to listen to and not cause you to think or feel. Which is why there is some blurring when it comes to talented artists or decent artists with good producers. My favourite songs off the album are: first things first, blinded by your grace pt. 2 and lay me bare. And what's really good is the fact that a lot of listeners of this album's favourite songs don't even include the promo single (big for your boots) which shows the album live up to expectations and was brilliant all round. Solid 9/10 (I'd give it a 10/10 but we all know there's no such thing as the "perfect album" even though this comes ridiculously close).

Gonna round it off here by saying I'm extremely impressed by the drive and performance displayed by artists in the U.K. so far this year from genres like rap, grime and drill. So in honour I dedicated this week's playlist to them (there's more but you know these music streaming services hardly have low-key tracks). Oh yeah check out Stormzy's Not For The Radio interview he did earlier this week as well (video below).

Salute guys!

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#Grime #Stormzy #GangSignsPrayer