tormzy performed a “beautifully poetic” set as the rain poured during his only UK show of this year.
The 30-year-old grime star, known for his 2020 Brit performance where he sang on stage in the rain, described his set at All Points East festival in London’s Victoria Park on Friday as “one of the greatest nights of my entire life”.
The crowd embraced the heavy showers as he performed two of his UK number one hits – Vossi Bop and Own It.
He also went back to his roots, performing hits from his 2017 debut album Gang Signs & Prayer, which later won him a Brit award for best British album and best solo male.
The headline show included hit Big For Your Boots – which became a stand-out moment during his lauded Pyramid stage performance at Glastonbury festival in 2019 which was the first headline show by a black solo British artist.
Similarly to the crowd’s delight, Stormzy took off his shoes and began dancing in the rain on stage during the track.
Meanwhile before singing track Rainfall, he told the crowd: “You see when it was raining this morning, I said ‘this is beautifully poetic’ because sometimes in life, you have to let the rain fall on your enemy.”
The show also heard Stormzy, who hails from Croydon, praise fans for his global success.
He told fans: “I can’t believe there is so many people here tonight. London, I love you guys, from the bottom of my heart.
“This is my hometown, you lot are my family, I appreciate everyone who spent their hard earned money on a ticket to see the festival, to see the show.
“Until the day I die as long as I’m up here and I have a career, I’ll never ever stop saying thank you.
“You lot have changed my life, you lot have changed my family’s life, I’ll thank you for the rest of my life.”
The rapper also spoke about performing his third album This Is What I Mean for the “first time”.
He said: “It reflects a very specific time in my life, the word that comes up in reflective conversations is ‘stillness’ – I was really still, I was very reflective…I was able to look at myself in the mirror and say ‘this is how you feel’.
“In a world full of distractions, in a world that’s built to distract you and in a world that is built to disrupt you, in a world that’s built to throw so many things in your face and to distract you from your main goal – which is to know yourself.”
Stormzy also performed hit tracks Heavy Is The Head, Cigarettes & Cush and Firebabe during the energetic show.
He ended his performance saying: “This is one of the greatest nights of my entire life.
“I’ll never forget it.”
As well as headlining the show in his hometown, Stormzy curated the day of artists alongside APE with featured acts Rampage Sound, Dexter In The Newsagent, and Kehlani.
