STORMZY Vinyl & CDs

Review: Chase & Status and Stormzy coming together was always going to be huge. One rules the charts, the other the clubs, and between them they cooked up a massive single that got heard everywhere all summer long, including a special live performance of it in Ushuaia Ibiza. Now you can own it on a slab of vinyl that has been cut nice and loud, which is perfect for the tune - the bass is devastating, the bars from Stormzy are hard, the energy is dark and unrelenting and it's the perfect sort of jungle cross over sound that will continue to be heard everywhere well into 2025.

Review: You can't have missed the hype surrounding Stormzy's new full-length - it's one of the most hotly-anticipated albums of the year. The question is: has it delivered on the promise? Yes - and then some. The grime superstar recorded the set on location with an extended group of trusted collaborators - Ms Banks, Sampha, Black Sherif, Debbie, Jacob Collier and NAO included - and the results are more sonically beautiful and soulful than much of his previous output. The distinctive flows are still there, though the subjects covered are often more personal and thoughtful than some may have expected, but Stormzy sings as much as he raps, and the accompany beats - often laden in strings, jazzy guitar flourishes and warming electric piano - are informed as much by R&B and hip-hop as the grizzled, sub-heavy East London vibes of grime.