Stormzy’s third album will be released this year, the grime star has announced.
The 28-year-old revealed the news during the first night of his much-delayed Heavy Is The Head UK tour in Cardiff on Sunday.
During the show at the Motorpoint Arena, a video was played giving an insight into the recording process of the forthcoming record.
The video, which showed the Croydon-born rapper in the studio, concluded by confirming the album will arrive this year and is available for pre-order now.
It was described by Stormzy’s team as a “personal gesture of gratitude to his loyal and supportive fans who have waited almost two years for the UK shows”.
The tour, his biggest in the UK to date, includes three nights at London’s O2 Arena as well as shows in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Glasgow.
It was repeatedly delayed by the pandemic.
It was among the biggest touring casualties of the virus, with Sir Elton John, Genesis and The Rolling Stones also forced to delay live dates.
Originally from south London, Stormzy rose to fame with his song Shut Up, which was released as a freestyle and posted on YouTube.
His 2017 debut album, Gang Signs And Prayer, was the first grime album to reach number one in the UK and was named album of the year at the 2018 Brit Awards.
It was followed two years later by Heavy Is The Head – another number one.
December 2020 saw him sign with influential hip hop record label Def Jam after leaving Atlantic Records, joining some of the biggest names in rap music, including Kanye West, Nas, Pusha T and Public Enemy.