Stormzy: Britain's Most Important Artist...

In the interests of full disclosure, here are a few things to bear in mind about the bloke writing this.
No.1: He is white. 
No.2: He grew up in an East Yorkshire town where the idea of racial integration meant having a Chinese takeaway. 
No.3: He lived in London for 15 years. That was very different to the above experience. But it was still a nice bit of London with only a couple of stabbings nearby.
No.4: He has no great appreciation of grime music. 
No.5: He is 50 years old.

Consequently, watching Stormzy headline on the main stage at Glastonbury on Friday wasn't a thing I was expecting to be bowled over by. But the show he delivered was fucking astonishing for all sorts of reasons. 

His set was a combination of assured showmanship, political comment and part tribute to the artists who'd paved the way for him and his generation. 

The showmanship element was hugely impressive. He didn't just put on a show. He owned the stage in a way that few artists before him had done. The stage craft and the use of a supporting cast that included gospel singers, BMX riders and Chris Martin was beautifully assembled. But it was the political content that helped elevate it from just an excellent show to a vital and important piece of contemporary art. 

From Stormzy's walk-on uniform of a stab vest with a tattered Union Jack emblazoned on the front, to the short ballet interlude discussing the relatively recent innovation of non-white shoes for black dancers, to the use of the David Lammy commentary about knife crime and the prospects for young black men, it was an object lesson in how to elevate entertainment into something else entirely. 

Here was a young man taking the moment of his life and turning it into something that was about so much more than just promoting him and his music. He was using it to bring attention to all sorts of social ills. 

Meanwhile, back in the non-music world, we've seen a mainly white and massively privileged Tory leadership race where most of the candidates have avoided difficult questions or just told outright lies. Their concerns: their own agendas and retaining power at all costs. And the people suffering because of austerity: fuck 'em.

On the basis of what I saw at Glastonbury this year, I think there is an argument to be made for Stormzy being the most important artist in the UK at the moment. And, just to be clear: when I say he is the most important artist in the UK, I mean in any discipline. 

His work discusses difficult and complex issues, such as gang culture, drugs and knife crime in London, and he remains outspoken about matters that should be a source of national shame such as Grenfell. And these also fuel his work.

For my part, I am humbled by my own lack of engagement in the fight. It is good to be reminded of what is possible, though. It's inspiring stuff.

I am a convert to the church of Stormzy.