Update: speaking after the Conservative Party’s leadership hustings in Carlisle, Boris Johnson insisted Stormzy was ‘thoroughly on message’, claiming he was actually singing ‘back Boris’ – his campaign slogan. He blamed ‘problems with the acoustics’ for the ‘misunderstanding’.
Wearing a Union Jack stab jacket the South London rapper Stormzy was uncompromising as he became the first black British solo artist to headline Glastonbury.
The 25-year-old from Croydon is also the first UK rapper to headline Glastonbury and paid tribute to the other trailblazers of UK rap in a set full of gratitude as well as attitude.
Not everyone was grateful however, as one of the many talking points of a set that combined gospel, politics, social comment, controversy, perhaps Glasto’s most expensive show ever, even a surprise cameo from Coldplay’s Chris Martin, was the brilliant chorus line of the Number One hit Vossi Bop.
-A line so brilliant Stormzy insisted on rewinding and getting the crowd of hundreds of thousands to sing it again – along with everyone watching the blazing performance live around the country on the BBC.
“I could never die, I’m Chuck Norris”
“Fuck the government and fuck Boris”
-sang hundreds of thousands in the cheery crowd at the world’s biggest musical festival.
However many sang along, it was certainly way more than the 160,000 Conservative Party members, swelled by Brexiteers who are likely to vote Boris Johnson PM because of yet another undeliverable promise.
A point not lost on the many who enjoyed a performance that went viral on social media as the PM wannabe who gleefully snapped “fuck business” over their Brexit concerns was trolled by the gleeful chorus of “fuck Boris”.
Stormzy who also highlighted serious issues and racism, social opportunity and inclusiveness in a set that veered from high energy grime to gospel, also asked that the favourite to lead the Tory Party could suck his mum in another of his more colourful lyrics.
Not everybody enjoyed the performance needless to say, with lots of complaints that the performance was too political.
But there was no way the rapper who never flinches from tackling hard topics and wore a Union Jack stab jacket for the performance was going to distance himself from political comment.
The Croydon rapper who has won many fans by wearing his heart on his sleeve, famously got #GrimeforCorbyn trending with his support for the Labour Party leader.
A billboard at Glastonbury by Brexiteer trolls Led By Donkeys and Cold War Steve mocking Boris’ broken promises has also caused controversy.
“There is no plan for no deal, because we’re going to get a great deal” promised Boris Johnson… only to resign as Foreign Secretary when the Brexit deal was actually being negotiated and describe it as Britain wearing a “suicide vest.”
So the expert political trollers Led By Donkeys and Cold War Steve who lampoons politicians with dystopian images put BoJo’s words on a giant poster to remind everybody.
Is that the same Stormzy who is a staunch Corbynista socialist but who declined to perform at #Jezfest because Labour wouldn’t pay him a £100,000 fee for a 20 minute set? Just checking…