Stormzy – This Is What I Mean: A review.

Three years after his last album, British-Ghanaian rapper Stormzy is back with his third studio album. The two lead singles off the project have hinted at an entirely different Stormzy album. Known for his high energy delivery on grime beats, Stormzy rather on this album, opts to stay in the mellow pocket of piano chords; while delivering ballad-like vocals and performances.

Let’s dive into this 12-track LP.

The album begins with ‘Fire + Water.’ This kind of music strays away from album intros typical to rappers. A clear indication that listeners are in for sonic surprises. Those piano chords do an excellent job to carry across the weight of emotions in Stormzy’s verses and voice. He recounts events that clearly point to his widely publicized breakup with Maya Jama, but doesn’t rule out the idea of a reconciliation. He paints a picture of that period in a relationship where, both partners spend some time apart rethink, refocus and reconcile.

On track 2, ‘Big Mike’ makes an appearance. After ‘letting his guard down’ in track 1, he brings back the bars on ‘This Is What I Mean’ to remind folks he’s still got it. Its anthemic nature makes it ‘Vossi Bop-esque.’ Album titled tracks are often special, and this is no different. It also boasts of vocals from a star-studded lineup of Ms Banks, Amaarae and Black Sherif.

After the highs, comes the lows. Track 2 transitions into a mellow track 3 titled, ‘Fire Babe.’ Once more, the emotive piano chords are at play. Stormzy evinces that first time you set sights on someone and it’s, love at first sight; the very beginning of what would turn out to be a fairytale love story. Beautiful record.

‘Please’ portrays Stormzy figuratively standing on top of the mountain, supplicating. There is this sense of rawness and earnestness in the words he raps, invoking whatever call-to-action requisite of the listener.

‘Need You’ is an exemplar of a perfect record. It ticks all boxes, from the percussions, chords, melodies, vocals, even down to the mix. Stormzy’s flow and delivery is as smooth as butter.

Up next is the first lead single off the project, ‘Hide & Seek.’ Even with an uptempo vibe, Stormzy manages to enunciate his raps carefully to indicate a reconciliation from a broken romantic relationship.

We are back to getting Big Mike on track 7. ‘My Presidents Are Black’ is an excellent ode to the OGs who have, and continue to inspire him. He also pledges to do same and even better for the ones after him, especially Dave. He also recounts a number of things that he’s been able to use his ascendancy achieve.

Track 8 is called ‘Sampha’s Plea.’ If you’ve been paying attention up until this point, you would see Sampha’s footprints in the form of backup vocals scattered throughout the project. This particular song appears to be a spin-off from track 4. It was probably too good to be mixed up with it, so it had to be a stand-alone.

Stormzy decides to take us to church on track 9. ‘Holy Spirit’ is reminiscent of ‘Blinded By Your Grace.’ There’s a clear indication that the making of this song was very emotional. The lyrics and tone of the song are very moving and spirit invoking.

Track 10 basically characterizes the ill feeling the downsides of relationships bring. It comes as no surprise that it is fittingly called ‘Bad Blood.’

‘I Got My Smile Back’ conveys Stormzy’s feeling of fulfillment and contentment. He recounts his journey through depression, loneliness, joy, paranoia, purpose, love, self-doubt and suicidal thoughts, which have all led up to his newly found peace of mind.

The final track, ‘Give It To The Water’ is a culmination of Stormzy’s exact thoughts on this album. His use of water throughout this entire project is hard to go unnoticed, and can be regarded as a symbol of his growing wisdom, power and grace; which he intimates in the music.

The entire 51 minutes, 20 seconds of this album points to the fact that, Stormzy has gotten to a point in his creative process where he’s creating freely while trusting the process. Reason why all songs radiate vulnerability, accountability, passion, veracity and serenity. On the songs, he claims this LP is his “magnum opus.” But is it? Well, time will tell.