Stormzy has made his long-awaited return with a new freestyle titled “Sorry Rach!” marking his first solo release in two years. You can listen to the track below.
The Croydon rapper, whose album This Is What I Mean topped the U.K. Official Album Charts in November 2022, has not released new music since. During this time, he has worked on several collaborations with prominent artists, including Chase & Status on “Backbone,” RAYE on “The Weekend,” and Shawn Mendes and Jacob Collier on “Witness Me.”
In March, Stormzy, born Michael Ebenazer Owuo Junior, received a BRIT Award for fan-voted hip hop/grime/rap act, beating out artists like Central Cee and Little Simz. The award win followed a controversial partnership with McDonald’s earlier in the year, which led to online backlash. The rapper addresses the controversy in his new track, rapping, “I heard they wanna hang me out to dry for a nugget meal. The world might never love your way again, but my mother will.”
The backlash began when some of Stormzy’s followers noted that the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) movement had previously called for a global boycott of McDonald’s over its support for Israeli forces during the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Before collaborating with McDonald’s, Stormzy had been outspoken in his support for Palestine. In January 2024, he performed at an event called Artists For Aid in New Jersey, which raised funds for the ongoing Gaza crisis. However, in recent months, Stormzy removed an Instagram post from October 2023 that called for a “Free Palestine.”
Addressing the incident in February, Stormzy clarified, “I didn’t archive the post where I came out in support of Palestine for any reason outside of me archiving loads of IG posts last year. In that post, I spoke about #FreePalestine, oppression and injustice and my stance on this has not changed.”
Regarding the McDonald’s controversy, he added, “The brands I work with can’t tell me what to do and don’t tell me what to do otherwise I wouldn’t work with them. I do my own research on all brands I work with, gather my own information, form my own opinion and come to my own conclusion before doing business.”
In addition to “Sorry Rach!,” Stormzy released a second track, “Hold Me Down,” on May 7. This poignant ballad, which reflects on life in the public eye, was accompanied by a live performance video.
Looking ahead, Stormzy will perform at several European festivals this summer, including Norway’s Palmesus, Roskilde in Denmark, and Dour Festival in Belgium. Fans can find more information and tickets on his official website.
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