Stormzy’s new album, This Is What I Mean, was three years and a pandemic in the making. We sat down with Stormzy and the founder of the original Def Jam label, Rick Rubin, to listen to the album in full.They first spoke the day before the start of the recording sessions for the album — where Rick offered him advice — but here they meet for the first time to discuss the artistic process Stormzy went through putting the album together. Over an afternoon spent listening to the album and talking, they discuss everything from defying the expectations the audience have of you, being creatively selfish in the best possible way, and growing, both as a man and as a musician. The album Stormzy made is full of honesty, rawness and emotion. It’s an album about God and love, about coming to terms with the end of a famous and well-publicised relationship; about working through those feelings, examining your faults, looking deep inside yourself, and working out who you want to be as a man. As Stormzy says:
“It's not about defying what everyone thinks about you; it’s about being totally true to yourself.”A global platform for emerging talent, i-D celebrates fashion, culture, individuality and youth.
