Heavy Is the Head (album)

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This article is about the Stormzy album. For the T.I. album of a similar name, see Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head.

Heavy Is the Head
Studio album by
Stormzy
Released13 December 2019 (2019-12-13)
Genre
Length53:36
Label
Producer
Stormzy chronology
Gang Signs & Prayer
(2017) 		Heavy Is the Head
(2019) 		This Is What I Mean
(2022)
Singles from Heavy Is the Head
  1. "Vossi Bop"
    Released: 25 April 2019
  2. "Crown"
    Released: 21 June 2019
  3. "Wiley Flow"
    Released: 15 September 2019
  4. "Own It"
    Released: 22 November 2019
  5. "Audacity"
    Released: 11 December 2019[2]

Heavy Is the Head (abbreviated to h.i.t.h on the album cover) is the second studio album by British rapper Stormzy. It was released on 13 December 2019 through #Merky Records and Atlantic Records UK.[3] The album features collaborations with Aitch, Burna Boy, Ed Sheeran, Headie One, H.E.R., and Yebba.[4]

Heavy Is the Head was supported by the singles "Vossi Bop", "Crown", "Wiley Flow" and "Own It".[5] "Vossi Bop" was Stormzy's first number-one song on the UK Singles Chart, while "Own It" also reached number one on the chart. Additionally, "Crown" reached the top 10 on the chart. Heavy Is the Head debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, behind Rod Stewart's You're in My Heart: Rod Stewart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and ahead of Harry Styles' Fine Line.[5] It eventually topped the chart on 10 January 2020.

Heavy Is the Head received widespread acclaim from critics upon release, being nominated at the Brit Awards for British Album of the Year, while "Vossi Bop" for British Song of the Year. By January 2020, it was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Promotion[edit]

The album was promoted with numerous projections of the initials H.I.T.H around London.[5] Stormzy officially announced the album through his social media on 19 November,[6] revealing the track list and cover art, which shows him holding the stab proof vest featuring a black-and-white Union Jack that he wore during his set at the Glastonbury Festival 2019, designed by Banksy.[7]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[8]
Metacritic82/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The Daily Telegraph[11]
Financial Times[12]
The Guardian[13]
The Independent[14]
NME[15]
The Observer[16]
Pitchfork7.0/10[17]
Q[18]
The Times[19]

Upon release, Heavy Is the Head received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 17 reviews.[9]

Carl Anka of NME described Heavy Is the Head as "a broad-reaching, genre-buckling romp that – while sometimes overreaching – never gets dull or overstays its welcome."[15] Praising its exploration of genres and themes, Kitty Empire wrote for The Observer, "The spaciousness, punch and depth of these productions is telling, but it is a mark of [Heavy Is the Head's] artistic integrity that Stormzy manages to transcend genre (again) without sacrificing his core griminess, or losing too much in the way of accent, word choice, content or theme."[16]

The album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize 2020, the second time in his career.

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Big Michael"
2:26
2."Audacity" (featuring Headie One)
Smith4:06
3."Crown"
3:33
4."Rainfall" (featuring Tiana Major9)
3:18
5."Rachael's Little Brother"
EY5:38
6."Handsome"
2:33
7."Do Better"
  • Omari
  • Smith
Smith4:09
8."Don't Forget to Breathe" (featuring Yebba) (interlude)
  • PRGRSHN
  • Smith
2:21
9."One Second" (featuring H.E.R.)
4:01
10."Pop Boy" (featuring Aitch)
2:33
11."Own It" (featuring Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy)
  • Fred
  • Weathers[b]
3:37
12."Wiley Flow"
3:27
13."Bronze"
  • Omari
  • Jonathan Lee
2:25
14."Superheroes"
  • Omari
  • Weathers
  • Alastair O'Donnell
  • Brian Steven Harris
  • Lee
  • Natalie Jordan
  • Nigel Lowis
  • Weathers
  • Aod
3:32
15."Lessons"
  • Omari
  • Ed Thomas
Thomas3:08
16."Vossi Bop"
  • Omari
  • Chris Andoh
  • ANDERSON
  • Dakarai Forbes
Andoh3:16
Total length:53:36
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."Sounds of the Skeng"
  • Omari
  • Karl Joseph
Sir Spyro3:32
Total length:57:40

Sample credits

  • "Rainfall" contains a sample of "Shackles (Praise You)" written by Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell and Warryn Campbell and performed by Mary Mary. The song was featured on the video game Watch Dogs: Legion under the title "Fall on My Enemies".[16]
  • "Rachael's Little Brother" contains elements of "Baby Boy" written by Cherise Roberts, Eyobed Getachew, John Horsley, Michael Brown, Michael Mugisha, Nadia Shepherd, Temi Aisida and Thelma Howell and performed by Big Brovaz.[16]
  • "Superheroes" contains an interpolation of "Someday" written by Lee Jordan and Nigel Lowis and performed by Keisha White, which is the theme song to the CBBC show The Story of Tracy Beaker.[16]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[41] Platinum 90,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[42] Platinum 300,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (12 December 2019). "Stormzy: Heavy Is the Head — a gripping album of light and shade". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  2. ^ Krol, Charlotte (11 December 2019). "Stormzy and Headie One command respect in new song 'Audacity'". NME. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  3. ^ Hussey, Allison; Strauss, Matthew (19 November 2019). "Stormzy Details New Album Heavy Is the Head". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  4. ^ Bruce-Jones, Henry (19 November 2019). "Stormzy details second album, Heavy Is The Head". Fact. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Copsey, Rob (19 November 2019). "Stormzy announces new album Heavy Is The Head". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  6. ^ Aniftos, Rania (19 November 2019). "Stormzy Confirms Release Date for 'Heavy Is the Head' Album". Billboard. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  7. ^ Reilly, Nick (19 November 2019). "Stormzy announces second album 'Heavy Is The Head'". NME. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Heavy Is the Head by Stormzy reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Heavy is the Head by Stormzy Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  10. ^ Simpson, Paul. "Heavy Is the Head – Stormzy". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  11. ^ McCormick, Neil (13 December 2019). "Heavy is the Head, Stormzy, review: grime's swagger meets Shakespearean self-doubt". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  12. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (13 December 2019). "Stormzy: Heavy Is the Head — a gripping album of light and shade". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  13. ^ Petridis, Alexis (13 December 2019). "Stormzy: Heavy Is the Head review – a bright light on the dark side of fame". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  14. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (13 December 2019). "Stormzy review – Heavy Is the Head: Assertive second album heralds a man who knows exactly who he is". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  15. ^ a b Anka, Carl (16 December 2019). "Stormzy – 'Heavy Is The Head' review: a broad-reaching, genre-buckling romp". NME. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  16. ^ a b c d e Empire, Kitty (14 December 2019). "Stormzy: Heavy Is the Head review – a hyper-confident return". The Observer. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  17. ^ Pritchard, Will (18 December 2019). "Stormzy: Heavy Is the Head Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  18. ^ Aroesti, Rachel (February 2020). "Force of Nature". Q. No. 407. p. 106.
  19. ^ Potton, Ed (13 December 2019). "Stormzy: Heavy Is the Head review — a regal gift from the grime king". The Times. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Stormzy – Heavy Is the Head". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Stormzy – Heavy Is the Head" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  22. ^ "Stormzy Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  23. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Stormzy – Heavy Is the Head". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Stormzy – Heavy Is the Head" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Stormzy – Heavy Is the Head" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  26. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Stormzy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Charts.nz – Stormzy – Heavy Is the Head". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  28. ^ "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 3, 2020". VG-lista. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  30. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Stormzy – Heavy Is the Head". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Stormzy – Heavy Is the Head". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  32. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  33. ^ "Stormzy Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  34. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  35. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  36. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2020". Ultratop. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  37. ^ "Album Top-100 2020". Hitlisten. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  38. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2020" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  39. ^ White, Jack (10 January 2021). "Ireland's Official Top 50 biggest albums of 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  40. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  41. ^ "Danish single certifications – Stormzy – Heavy Is the Head". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  42. ^ "British album certifications – Stormzy – Heavy Is the Head". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
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