Headie One releases his first single of the year, 'Cry No More' featuring Stormzy, taken from his forthcoming sophomore album The Last One.
Produced by Tay Keith (Travis Scott, Drake), Tommy Parker (Ariana Grande, 21 Savage) and Pooh Beatz (Jack Harlow, DaBaby), ‘Cry No More’ sees Headie in a reflective mood “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”.
The accompanying film, conceptualised by Headie and directed by RAWTAPE (Keshi, Kasabian, NTS), shows both artists on the streets of their hometown, portraying the good, the bad and the ugly side of London life with Stormzy rapping ‘I just laugh when they say that I can’t go higher, im a frequent flyer, my last albums cold but my new ones fire, I might call it Maya”.
Listen to ‘Cry No More (feat. Stormzy)’ by Headie One on our Manchester United Fan Playlist on Spotify.
Headie One says of the track and video: “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. 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”
The Last One is Headie’s second album following his debut, Edna in 2020 which reached #1 in the UK album chart, making history as the first drill album to achieve the milestone.
The new album completes the narrative of Headie’s story from The One mixtape to present day. From pain and regret to progression and finally, a new chapter and a new beginning. He has touched on some of the subjects and circumstances in previous projects but the lyrics on The Last One aim to dig deeper. The artwork also signifies the arrival at a destination. One where he now stands alone, free from the oppression of his past and on the horizon of a new life.
Born and raised in Tottenham, Headie is one of the figureheads of the scene, drawing inspiration from the smoThioth melodics of southern and east coast Hip Hop to create his signature bouncy flow coupled with acute and street smart wordplay. His ascent seemed fated, destined to be one of the genre’s forefathers – like Wiley with grime, fellow Londoner Giggs with road rap, or So Solid Crew with UK garage – and has done so with versatility, maneuvering between genres with aspirations to take his music to the widest demographic possible.
Since his debut solo release, Headz or Tails in 2014, Headie has released multiple mixtapes and tracks, working with many of today’s biggest names in music including Dave, Skepta, Stormzy, Krept and Konan, Burna Boy and Aitch. He released his fourth and most successful tape to date ‘Music x Road’ in 2019 reaching Top 5 in the UK Albums Chart, following it up a year later with Gang, a collaborative release with the critically acclaimed producer Fred Again with features from Jamie xx, Sampha and FKA twigs. Later in 2020, Headie released ‘Only You Freestyle’ featuring Drake, which peaked at #5 in the UK Singles Chart.
