Whenever an artist is inviting to step into the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, they are presented with the challenge and opportunity to do a cover of another artist's songs. This week in particular, artists were asked to cover songs from an artist who has previously won a BRIT Award. With his forthcoming debut album Gang Signs & Prayer due out next Friday, Stormzy stopped by the Live Lounge earlier today to speak about his new music and put a huge twist on a well-known song.
For his cover, Stormzy took on a big challenge by choosing Kanye West single. In 2015, Stormzy was one of the many artists on stage with Kanye when he premiered his single "All Day" at the BRIT Awards. That might seem like a great reason to choose a Kanye single, but Stormzy explained that he chose to do "Ultralight Beam" from The Life of Pablo album for bigger reasons: "This song means a lot to me. I love the message of the song, I love the musicality of the song."
The London MC has proven the versatility of his style quite a few times, and yet this choice still comes as an exciting surprise. Joined by a choir in the Live Lounge, Stormzy makes "Ultralight Beam" his own by adding original verses to the track to make a track he already loves even more personal.
Listen to Stormzy's cover here at the 2:13:25 mark.
