Headie One Shares 'Cry No More' Featuring Stormzy

Headie One has been one of the most central figures front-lining the sound of drill, and  has always been one of the most innovate when it comes to experimenting with the genre, often pushing it’s sonic boundaries.

Now with longevity in mind he releases his first single of the year ‘Cry No More’ featuring Stormzy and announces the impending release of his sophomore album The Last One.

The track is a reassurance that the roads and the violent repercussions are something that has been fully turned away from and a nod to what’s to come.

Reflecting on the lessons learnt from his personal experiences, Headie One exerts his typical cool and calm demeanour  rapping “Sometimes you gotta lose the battle, just so you can win the war, you gotta go back and forth, from the court to the roads to the court.”

Produced by Tay Keith, he experiments with a refreshing soundscape that houses  a soulful sample that provides an emotive feel.

The beat however cuts out around Stormzy smooth verse as the South Londoner, makes a playful reference to the afro-beats artist Asake’s ‘Lonely’ momentarily blurring the lines between genres before returning to the alt-drill sound. He then carries on demonstrating his creative wordplay whilst flexing his atmospheric heights.

 “This is one of my favourites from the album.. I loved the sample and 808s straight away when Tay (Keith) and Pooh (Beatz) played it in the studio. Stormzy went crazy on it too”, says Headie.

The accompanying film is directed by RAWTAPE, however the concepts come from the mind of Headie One. As it depicts both Tottenham and Croydon, and the everyday people who call these places home. Headie and Stormzy feature in the video, however your attention is caught by the life which is happening behind the artists.

Speaking about the idea behind the video, the Broadwater Farm rapper says “The video concept was to show people that everyone has struggles they have to deal with daily.

 That’s no different to myself and Stormzy, regardless of what people think we’ve achieved in our careers. We still have things in life we have to deal with like everyone else.” 

His upcoming sophomore album The Last One picks up from his debut album Edna, dedicated to Headie’s late mother in 2020. The project reached number 1 in the UK album chart, making history as the first drill album to do so.

The Last One is rumoured to explore themes such as regret, pain and  growth and the sensation of finally arriving, a musical journey which was started 10 years go.

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