| Gang Signs & Prayer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 February 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2015–2016 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 58:47 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| Stormzy chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Gang Signs & Prayer | ||||
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Gang Signs & Prayer is the debut studio album by British rapperStormzy. It was released on 24 February 2017 independently through #Merky Records while being distributed byADA ofWarner Music Group.[4] It is Stormzy's first major commercial release, following theDreamers Disease EP (2014). The album features guest appearances from fellow MCsWretch 32,Ghetts andJ Hus, along with singersKehlani,Raleigh Ritchie andMNEK. It features production fromFraser T. Smith andSir Spyro, among others.
After gaining attention on the UK underground music scene via hisWicked Skengman series of freestyles over classic grime beats, Stormzy released his debut EPDreamers Disease independently in July 2014.[5] In September 2015, he released a final instalment to his "WickedSkengMan" freestyle series, "WickedSkengMan 4", ontoiTunes. After a year's hiatus from social media to focus on the recording of the album, Stormzy returned in early February 2017 via a series of advertising hoarding campaigns across London displaying lyrical quotes and the hashtag#GSAP 24.02.Gang Signs & Prayer was supported by the lead single "Big for Your Boots".
Gang Signs & Prayer received critical acclaim upon release, and entered theUK Albums Chart at number one with sales of over 68,000 copies, becoming the firstgrime album in history to reach number one. It also charted in twelve other countries.Gang Signs & Prayer holds the distinction of having every song from the album appear concurrently in theUK Singles Chart, including seven songs in the top 40.[6] The album is certifiedPlatinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI).Gang Signs & Prayer wonBritish Album of the Year at the2018 Brit Awards.[7]
After gaining attention on the UK underground music scene via hisWicked Skengman series of freestyles over classic grime beats, Stormzy released his debut EPDreamers Disease independently in July 2014.[5]
In March 2015, he released the single "Know Me From", which entered theUK Singles Chart at number 49. In September 2015, he released a final instalment to his "WickedSkengMan" freestyle series, "WickedSkengMan 4", ontoiTunes, along with a studio version of his "Shut Up" freestyle overXTC'sFunctions on the Low instrumental.[8] The track debuted at number 18 in theUK Singles Chart, becoming Stormzy's first top 40 hit.[9] The online video for "Shut Up" gained millions of views and attention from the mainstream. As a result, Stormzy launched aChristmas number one campaign to get the song to number one,[10][11][12] ultimately peaking at number eight in theUK Singles Chart.
After a year's hiatus from social media to focus on the recording of the album, Stormzy returned in early February 2017 via a series of advertising hoarding campaigns across London displaying lyrical quotes and the hashtag#GSAP 24.02. The album title was announced to beGang Signs & Prayer, set to be released on 24 February 2017, followed by the track listing the following day.[13][14][15]
Prior to the album's official announcement, the non-album track "Shut Up" was released in September 2015 and ultimately included as the penultimate track onGang Signs & Prayer. The non-album single "Scary" was released in April 2016 prior to Stormzy's hiatus. On 1 February 2017, an advertising hoarding campaign that foreshadowed the release of the album was launched in numerous areas inLondon.
"Big for Your Boots" was released as the album's leadsingle on 3 February 2017. The track was produced byFraser T Smith andSir Spyro. It entered theUK Singles Chart at number eight, reaching a peak of number six in its fourth week of charting after the release ofGang Signs & Prayer. It thus surpassed "Shut Up" as Stormzy's highest-charting single. "Cold" was released as the album's second single on 12 March, following the album's being certified Gold in the United Kingdom.[1] "Cigarettes & Cush" was released as the album's third single on 29 August 2017.[2] "Blinded by Your Grace, Pt. 2" was released as the album's fourth single on 27 October 2017.[3]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.8/10[16] |
| Metacritic | 82/100[17] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [18] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [19] |
| Financial Times | [20] |
| The Guardian | [21] |
| The Independent | [22] |
| NME | [23] |
| The Observer | [24] |
| Pitchfork | 7.6/10[25] |
| Q | [26] |
| The Times | [27] |
Upon its release,Gang Signs & Prayer received widespread acclaim from critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received anaverage score of 82, based on 19 reviews.[17] Giving it a perfect score, Jordan Bassett ofNME stated that Stormzy "delivers a knockout debut that’s brash and pensive in equal measure."[23]
Alexis Petridis ofThe Guardian praised the musical diversity of the album: "More startling, however, is the confidence with which other tracks shift into unexpected musical territory. On paper, a rapper like Stormzy recording a lo-fi, electric piano-led,Stevie Wonderesquegospel track called '"Blinded By Your Grace, Pt 1" sounds like a textbook case of an artist overstretching himself; in reality, it’s fantastic, and oddly moving.", concluding that "It’s not a perfect debut – it’s slightly too long for one thing, and there are a couple of points where it sags – but it sounds like an album teeming with original, daring ideas. More importantly, it sounds like the work of an artist with the confidence and the talent to pull those ideas off."[21]
| Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drowned in Sound | Favourite Albums of 2017 | 2017 | 79 | |
| NME | NME's Albums of the Year 2017 | 2017 | 14 | |
| Exclaim! | Exclaim!'s Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of 2017 | 2017 | 10 |
After receiving close competition withRag'n'Bone Man'sHuman,Gang Signs & Prayer entered theUK Albums Chart at number one, with combined sales of 68,594 copies.[31][32] It set British streaming records for the most first-week streams for a number one album in chart history, with 13.9 million streams, surpassing the opening week stream count ofDrake'sViews.Gang Signs & Prayer became the firstgrime album to chart at number one, as well as joining the likes ofSkepta andGiggs of charting in the top five independently. The album also charted at number one on theUK Independent Chart,UK R&B Chart and theIrish Albums Chart, number two on theScottish Albums Chart. Outside the UK, it entered theOfficial New Zealand Music Chart at number 14 andSverigetopplistan at number 34.
In the album's first week of release, seven tracks fromGang Signs & Prayer were in the top 40 of theUK Singles Chart – "Big for Your Boots", "Cold", "Bad Boys", "First Things First", "Mr Skeng", "Cigarettes & Cush" and "Shut Up". All sixteen tracks from the album appeared in the top 100 in a single week, making Stormzy the fourth artist to achieve this.[33]
Gang Signs & Prayer was certified Silver by theBPI in its first week of release.[34]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "First Things First" |
| 3:27 | |
| 2. | "Cold" |
|
| 2:36 |
| 3. | "Bad Boys" (featuringGhetts andJ Hus) |
|
| 4:06 |
| 4. | "Blinded by Your Grace, Pt. 1" |
|
| 2:40 |
| 5. | "Big for Your Boots" |
|
| 3:58 |
| 6. | "Velvet / Jenny Francis (Interlude)" |
|
| 5:39 |
| 7. | "Mr Skeng" |
|
| 3:17 |
| 8. | "Cigarettes & Cush" (featuringKehlani) |
|
| 5:49 |
| 9. | "21 Gun Salute (Interlude)" (featuringWretch 32) |
|
| 2:26 |
| 10. | "Blinded by Your Grace, Pt. 2" (featuringMNEK) |
|
| 3:50 |
| 11. | "Return of the Rucksack" |
|
| 3:04 |
| 12. | "100 Bags" |
|
| 3:37 |
| 13. | "Don't Cry for Me" (featuringRaleigh Ritchie) |
|
| 3:34 |
| 14. | "Crazy Titch (Interlude)" | Crazy Titch | 2:40 | |
| 15. | "Shut Up" |
|
| 2:46 |
| 16. | "Lay Me Bare" |
|
| 5:04 |
| Total length: | 58:47 | |||
Sample credits
Vocals
Instruments
Production
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[54] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[56] | Platinum | 429,833[55] |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | 24 February 2017 |
