Manu Crooks did a dutiful job of warming up the crowd with a mix of own tracks and other crowd favourites. He was at his energetic best when stalking the stage to his own trap and Atlanta-style tunes. His presence and crowd control was top notch and he more than earned his support spot.
It didn’t take long for the South London MC to burst onto the stage and straight into First Things First; the opening track from this year’s triumphant record Gang Signs & Prayer. It’s this fierce declaration that really seems to frame everything that Stormzy is about. He’s an absolute professional, with a truly commanding and dedicated level of energy that cannot be glossed over.
As a writer, he is bold and open, detailing the mistakes of his past, while completely embracing this new level of success. Stormzy has a rare humility, not often found in hip hop, but this certainly didn’t take away his edge. For someone so early in their career he seemed to have an endless stream of crowd-favourites from Cigarettes and Cush, Shut Up, Big for Your Boots, Cold and 100 Bags, prefaced by more endearing chats about his adoring mother who “can’t believe he is on the other side of the world right now.”
Working through tracks from his debut LP, with the occasional digression into his back-catalogue, Stormzy delivered a perfectly curated one-hour set, balancing the high-energy with the sentimental and, of course, plenty to dance to. His between song banter was always on-point and he never forgot his audience.
The minimal stage production was more than enough: a bold light show and DJ was all that was needed when someone of his stature and presence can fill rooms like the Forum with bangers like these. There is little doubt that from here the rooms are only going to get bigger.
Highlight: The love for mums.
Lowlight: Mobile phones, forever and always.
Crowd Favourite: Shut Up.
