Stormzy headlined This Is What We Mean day at the Finsbury Park festival, finding himself performing during a torential downpour that gave the set a “bibilical” atmosphere, according to fans.

the heavens opening as Stormzy performed ‘blinded by your grace’ was nothing short of biblical!! a life affirming moment #ThisIsWhatWeMeanDay @allpointseastuk pic.twitter.com/irchRp3Y9x

— Ben Johns (@ben_johns) August 19, 2023

When announcing his plans for This Is What We Mean day, Stormzy said, “I was thinking what’s next cos we’ve done 3 O2s shut that down. I said to the team we gotta do something bigger something better something different. We were having back to back meetings bouncing ideas. Then it hit me I started jotting down ideas thinking – live band need a live band. August 2023 a summer time thing outside for the people always for my people. So August 2023 Victoria Park more info coming soon…. This Is What We Mean Day. Hard.”

During his set, Stormzy performed fan favourites including “Crown,” “Vossi Bop” and “Firebabe,” however the standout moment for the crowd seemed to almost unanimously be his rain-soaked performance of his Gang Signs & Prayer album track, “Blinded By Your Grace Pt. 2.”

One fan wrote it was “one way to feel alive.” 

Honestly, this video does it no justice: But it absolutely pooooouring with rain the second @stormzy played Blinded By Your Grace – with 50,000 people singing along – was absolutely magical One way to feel alive. pic.twitter.com/BrSMxWe7Ud — Sean Spooner (@spoonersean) August 18, 2023

Stormzy addressed the crowd during his performance, expressing his love and gratitude for his fans, saying “Thank you so much for supporting me, thank you so much for considering me, thank you so much for just being in my life. I love you, I love you, I love you.”

He took to Twitter himself, summing up his All Points East experience by simply writing, “Wow.”  

Wow… #ThisIsWhatWeMeanDay — Stormzy (@stormzy) August 19, 2023

Stormzy was joined onstage by Debbie, who performed a number of tracks alongside Stormzy from his newest album (whose title inspired the theme name of the festival), This Is What I Mean. There was also an outpouring of love for Debbie’s guest appearance, with one fan writing, “Don’t think I’ll ever see a show to top that.”

Stormzy. This is what we mean day. Absolutely incredible performance. The rain felt like it was orchestrated especially for the show. Sampha, Lucky Daye and Debbie were . Don’t think I’ll ever see a show to top that.

— Rachael Buck (@Rachaelgough91) August 19, 2023

Rain pouring down while @stormzy and Debbie sang ‘Give it to the water’ honestly just closed my eyes and gave every worry to God, what an indescribable spiritual moment

— Babz (@babztweets) August 19, 2023

Stormzy released his newest single earlier this month, titled “Angel In The Marble.” Watch the music video below.

Read more about All Points East here.

HEAVY IS THE HEAD – THE WORLD TOUR 2020 #HITH
Tickets on sale 9am your LOCAL time Friday 6th Dec 2019. Dubai on-sale Wednesday 4th 8am. For early access to tix (ex. Asia & Africa) pre-order ‘Heavy Is The Head’ from my official store by 9AM UK Time 3rd Dec https://t.co/CgwCD9hRd6 pic.twitter.com/6TRx1MGxGN

— HEAVY IS THE HEAD (@stormzy) November 29, 2019

Stormzy will hit the road, in Dubai, on February 7 2020 and will conclude in Africa, on October 10 2020. The tour will include performances at The Novo, in Los Angeles, and New York’s Brooklyn Steel as well as shows in Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago and much more. The UK leg of the H.I.T.H world tour kicks off, in London, on September 3 2020, he will then head hit to Dublin, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Manchester, Nottingham, Birmingham, and Cardiff, before concluding in Bournemouth, on September 22 2020.

The South London rapper will make his solo debut at London’s O2 Arena for two nights in September 2020, which also marks his first solo shows, in London, since his three-day stint, at Brixton Academy,in 2017. Stormzy will then grace the stages of arenas throughout the UK and Ireland before heading to Africa, where he will tour for the first time. While in Africa he will play a notable show, in his homeland of Ghana, before bringing the world tour to an end with a show, in Lagos, Nigeria.

The touring announcement came on the heels of a phenomenal few weeks for 26-year-old rapper, which saw him kick-off the month by announcing his hotly anticipated album, ‘Heavy Is The Head’, which was released on December 3 2019. It also comes after the release of the musician brand new single, ‘Own It’, which features musical heavyweight’s Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy.

Stormzy’s upcoming album, ‘Heavy Is The Head’,marks a hugely exciting return for the multi award-winning grime rapper and is an album which has been executively produced, entirely by the musician himself. The album showcases his world class lyricism and musicality alongside many of his celebrated and relatable subject matters, which continue to dominate the cultural conversation.

The album also features a stellar list of additional vocals from some of the most exciting musicians of our generation – all of whom were hand-picked by Stormzy and includes Ed Sheeran, H.E.R, Burna Boy, YEBBA, Aitch, Headie One, and Tiana Major9. It also features production from Fred Gibson, Fraser T Smith, and T-Minus, among others.

To date, Stormzy has unveiled four out of the sixteen tracks, on the album, which leaves twelve unheard tracks still to come. In April he made his remarkable return to the spotlight, from a year out, where he unveiled ‘Vossi Bop’ – his first track since 2017. The track broke the record for the biggest week one streams for a British Rapper ever, with streams accumulating to over 12.7 million. The single earnt Stormzy his first ever UK number 1 single, which he held for two consecutive weeks. Shortly after, he unveiled the tracks ‘Crown’ and ‘Wiley Flow’ – which saw him pay homage to British MC Wiley.

The album announcement follows on from Stormzy being hailed as one of Time Magazine’s ten ‘Next Generation Leaders’, which coincided with him being only leader honoured with a cover for the special issue. Stormzy has been described as “[Stormzy’s] known for evolving the underground musical landscape, as well as being a perennial political agitator, Stormzy is a true spokesman of black empowerment and social activism.

“He has become one of the UK’s most inspiring cultural figures and earlier this year, during his headline performance at Glastonbury Festival, he took the opportunity to highlight a plethora of social issues, including the injustice of young black children being criminalized in a biased and disproportionate justice system.”

Stormzy ‘H.I.T.H’ UK Tour Dates 2020:

03/09/2020 – The O2 – London
04/09 – The O2 – London
08/09 – 3Arena – Dublin
10/09 – SSE Hydro – Glasgow
11/09 – Utilita Arena – Newcastle
12/09 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
13/09 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
16/09 – FlyDSA Arena -Sheffield
17/09 – Manchester Arena – Manchester
18/09 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
19/09 – Birmingham Arena – Birmingham
21/09 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
22/09 – Bournemouth International Centre – Bournemouth

‘Crown’ is a soulful, introspective and politically charged track, which addresses Stormzy’s life before fame and the stresses of his success. Dealing with the weight of responsibility attributed to him he raps “But heavy is the head with the crown I still wear it” whilst also acknowledging the anxieties of failure that he faces “Pray I never lose and pray I never hit the shelf”. Speaking on his latest venture, an educational scholarship for black-British students in Cambridge, Stormzy silences his critics and stands by his decision, stating “I done a scholarship for the kids they said it’s racist, that’s not anti-white, it’s pro-black.”

This single is the follow up to ‘Vossi Bop’, which was released earlier this year and gave Stormzy his first U.K #1 single. Exhibiting a versatility that’s to be expected from his new album, ‘Vossi Bop’ is an upbeat anthem to amp up to whereas ‘Crown’ lurks at the opposite end of the spectrum, proving his ability to create a conscience track over melodic piano riffs accompanied by a soulful choir.

‘Crown’ is produced by two of Britain’s musical icons, Grammy award-winning producer Jimmy Napes and legendary DJ, MJ Cole. Featured on the harmonious chorus is the musical ensemble LJ Singers, who create an emotional aura for this sentimental song.

Catch Stormzy headlining Glastonbury Festival later this week, marking a milestone for Grime music in the mainstream. You can also watch the official performance video for his latest single ‘Crown’ below.