7/10

After years of hype and acclaim for the London rapper, Stormzy has finally taken on the first big milestone of his career by releasing his long-awaited debut album 'Gang Signs & Prayer'. Although given the popularity of some of his singles to date, you could almost say that this new full-length is already a reinvention of his older self, choosing not to include the singles 'Scary' and 'Know Me From' in the tracklisting.

It seems clear from the start as to why Stormzy chose not to include some of his biggest hits to date on his debut record, and that is because the mood and tension throughout this release seems so succinct that adding some of those older tracks would spoil his intentions of this release. Much darker than his previous material, 'Gang Signs & Prayer' seems to portray a more honest rapper at the helm, confronting his personal demons as well as making a statement surrounding his own environment and musical scene.

It seems that rather than just give fans the music that they love, he has looked to open their eyes to the true situation at hand. With a direction that looks to blur the lines between RnB and grime music, this album is a far more personal statement than we have seen from him before. And in fact, makes a great introduction to the MC's personality as well as his sound.