Stormzy Drops Short Film for ‘Gang Signs & Prayer’

On Tuesday (Sept. 26), Stormzy debuted his new short-film Gangs Signs & Prayer. Directed by Rollo Jackson, the film details the English rapper's upbringing, featuring narrative scenes mixed with performances of songs from Stormzy's debut album.

"Young ​youts ​like ​myself, ​that ​grow ​up ​in ​the ​hood, ​we ​often ​don't ​know ​that ​we ​are ​actually ​the masters ​of ​our ​own ​destiny,” ​Stormzy told The Fader about the film. ​He added, “There ​are ​so ​many ​things ​that ​steer ​us ​in the ​wrong direction ​however, ​we ​decide ​what ​happens ​in ​our ​own ​lives ​and ​like ​my ​album, ​I endeavored for ​this ​film ​to ​portray ​just ​that."

Cinematic visuals have been a recent trend for Stormzy. In August, the rapper teamed up with director Daps for the video for his Kehlani-assisted track, "Cigarettes and Cush." The video features Stormzy as a drug dealer who falls for a woman who happens to be a police officer.

Stormzy dropped his debut album earlier this year. The 16-song project featured appearances by Ghetts, J Hus, Kehlani, Wretch 32, MNEK and Raleigh Ritchie. The album also got promotion on Twitter from the rapper's fellow Brit, Adele.

Gang Signs & Prayer made its way to No. 1 on the U.K. charts, also breaking a record for the most first-week streams for a No. 1 album in the U.K. The rapper was able to top artists such as Drake and Justin Bieber.

Watch Gang Signs & Prayer below.

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