Stormzy on being inspired by Beyonce and ‘pulling out the stops’ at Glastonbury
The rapper made history in 2019 by becoming the first black British solo artist to headline the festival.
Stormzy has reflected on “pulling all the stops out” for his headline set at Glastonbury Festival in 2019.
The British rapper, 31, known for songs including Big For Your Boots and Shut Up, cited Beyonce as an inspiration to deliver “superhuman” performances.
Speaking to magazine Men’s Health UK about his slot at Worthy Farm, he said: “I was trying to get into a shape I’ve never been in in my life.
“I’m not someone who grew up super fit. I’ve always just been kind of bog standard.
“I was taking my body and my nutrition to this entirely new place, while also trying to create this flipping iconic, legendary set.
“I had headlined Wireless, but this was a whole new beast. This was pulling all the stops out.”
He continued: “I remember I would do performances and in those days, I didn’t have my soul music, my gospel music, my R&B.
“So it might have been a 30-minute set of straight grime, giving it all my energy.
“There’d be times on stage where I was thinking, ‘I ain’t got nothing left in the tank.’”
The Croydon-born music star realised he wanted a nutritionist after watching Beyonce’s 2018 Coachella set, referred to as Beychella, which features in the documentary Homecoming: A Film By Beyonce.
Stormzy told Men’s Health UK: “There’s a part in Beychella where she talks about her diet, and I was thinking, ‘Yeah, now I want a nutritionist.’
“I want to be someone who is able to deliver a live set for 90 minutes with full energy and not stutter on my vocal, not be out of breath, not need to take a break, just be almost like a superhuman on stage, the same as I’ve seen Beyonce.”
Stormzy made history in 2019 by becoming the first black British solo artist to headline Glastonbury.
In 2020, the vest he wore at the festival, designed by Banksy, was nominated for a Beazley Design of the Year prize, and was subsequently donated to the Design Museum in London by the rapper.
Stormzy, real name Michael Omari, has had four number one tracks in the UK singles chart with Vossi Bop, Take Me Back To London (with Ed Sheeran), Own It, and Backbone, featuring Chase And Status.
General sale tickets for Glastonbury next year sold out in less than 40 minutes in November.
Veteran rock star Sir Rod Stewart will play the coveted legends slot next year.
Stormzy fronts and guest edits the January/February issue of Men’s Health UK, on sale from Friday.
