Yesterday, Stormzy dropped off two unexpected new tracks, which were his first solo releases in two years. The first was his new freestyle “Sorry Rach!," followed by the vulnerable "Hold Me Down." In the latter, he gets candid about dealing with emotional struggles and needing someone on his side when he's feeling down. The song is accompanied by a moody instrumental and a simple music video.
The two surprise releases follow Stormzy's album This Is What I Mean, which topped the U.K.’s Official Album Charts when it came out in November of 2022. It also follows various collaborations he's taken part in since. This includes tracks with Chase & Status, Shawn Mendes and Jacob Collier, RAYE, and more.
The release also comes after Stormzy got wrapped up in a major controversy earlier this year for working with McDonald’s to release his own meal. Some social media users pointed out that the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) movement had called for a boycott of McDonald’s due to the restaurant chain’s support of Israeli forces amid the Israel-Gaza conflict.
He’d previously shown his support for Palestine in an Instagram post in October 2023, which he later archived. He addressed archiving the post, making it clear that his “stance on this has not changed.”
The Croydon-born performer references the public outcry he faced in “Sorry Rach!"
“I heard they wanna hang me out to dry for a nugget meal,” he raps. “The world might never love your way again, but my mother will.”
Stormzy - Hold Me Down
Quotable Lyrics:
I feel myself changin', think I like these changes
I went through some phases, I outgrew these cages
