This Is What I Mean

This Is What I Mean is the third studio album by British rapper Stormzy, released through #Merky and 0207 Def Jam on 25 November 2022.[1] It follows Stormzy's 2019 album Heavy Is the Head,[2] and was preceded by the lead single "Hide & Seek"[3] and the follow-up single "Firebabe".[4] It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2023 Brit Awards.[5]

This Is What I Mean
Studio album by
Stormzy
Released25 November 2022 (2022-11-25)
Length51:20
Label
Producer
  • Prgrshn
  • Daniel Buhlebuyeza Miles
  • Dion Wardle
  • George Moore
  • Grades
  • Joel Peters
  • Jojo Mukeza
  • Juls
  • Knox Brown
  • KZ
  • Owen Cutts
  • P2J
  • Scribz Riley
  • Tempoe
  • Tendai
Stormzy chronology
Heavy Is the Head
(2019)		 This Is What I Mean
(2022)
Singles from This Is What I Mean
  1. "Hide & Seek"
    Released: 14 October 2022
  2. "Firebabe"
    Released: 10 November 2022

Background

The album was recorded on Osea Island in England during a series of music camps with a team of "world class musicians and the best producers, writers and artists in the world" in a "free atmosphere",[6] where Stormzy "prayed every morning" during its creation. It was further described as an "intimate love letter to music" by Stormzy.[7]

The album's announcement follows the release of the single "Mel Made Me Do It" on 23 September 2022, which was not included on the album.[2]

Promotion

Following a break of almost three years from social media, Stormzy announced the album on his social media on 12 October 2022, sharing the cover art and track list.[8] The lead single "Hide & Seek" was released on 14 October 2022, and was preceded by clips of Stormzy recording the song.[3] The second single "Firebabe" followed on 10 November 2022.[4]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[10]
Evening Standard[11]
Financial Times[12]
The Guardian[13]
NME[14]
Pitchfork7.7/10[15]
The Telegraph[16]
The Times[17]

This Is What I Mean was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 79, based on 14 reviews.[9]

Will Hodgkinson of The Times described the album as a "major achievement" with atypical guest stars from "contemporary Afrobeat, soul and R&B",[17] while David Smyth of the Evening Standard called it Stormzy's "most downbeat, intimate collection" that "very much sounds like a team effort[, t]hough the feel is insular and understated". Smyth summarised the two main themes on the album as being Stormzy "hurting from a break-up" and "the need for the advancement of black culture as a whole".[11]

Track listing
This Is What I Mean track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Fire + Water"
  • PRGRSHN
  • Kz
8:17
2."This Is What I Mean (Feat. Amaarae, Black Sherif & Ms. Banks)"
5:24
3."Firebabe (Feat. Debbie)"
  • Omari
  • Debbie Ehirim
  • George Moore
  • Collier
  • Alexander
  • Simon Tendai Senyange
3:40
4."Please"
  • Omari
  • Owen Cutts
  • Reuben James
Cutts2:53
5."Need You (Feat. Ayra Starr & Tendai)"
  • Omari
  • Alexander
  • Isong
  • Senyange
3:16
6."Hide & Seek"
  • P2J
  • PRGRSHN
  • Cutts[c]
  • Calum Landau[v]
3:28
7."My Presidents Are Black"
  • Omari
  • Alexander
  • Daniela Rathana
  • PRGRSHN
  • Peters[a]
4:22
8."Sampha's Plea (Feat. Sampha)"
Cutts2:45
9."Holy Spirit"
  • Omari
  • Dion Wardle
  • Alexander
  • PRGRSHN
  • Wardle
4:42
10."Bad Blood (Feat. NAO)"
4:03
11."I Got My Smile Back (Feat. India Arie)"
  • Omari
  • Ehirim
  • Collier
  • Isong
4:11
12."Give It To The Water (Feat. Debbie & Jacob Collier)"
  • Omari
  • Ehirim
  • Wardle
  • Collier
Wardle4:12
Total length:51:13

Personnel

Musicians

  • Stormzy – vocals
  • Jack Shepherd – acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 6, 9), electric guitar (1, 3, 6, 7)
  • Marco Bernardis – alto saxophone (1), flute (1), tenor saxophone (7)
  • Debbie Ehirim – background vocals (1, 3), vocals (3, 12)
  • Jacob Collier – background vocals (1–4, 11), piano (4, 8), vocals (12)
  • Kz – background vocals, programming (1)
  • Sampha – background vocals (1, 3), vocals (8)
  • Tendai – background vocals (1), programming (1, 3), bass guitar (2), piano (3), vocals (5); additional vocals, keyboards (10)
  • Prgrshn – programming (1, 5, 7), bass guitar (1, 5), piano (1, 2), percussion (1), keyboards (5–7, 9, 10, 11)
  • Aaron Blake – piano (1)
  • Joel Peters – programming (1, 3–7, 10), piano (1, 3), bass guitar (3, 12), keyboards (7, 12)
  • Calum Landau – programming (1, 3, 5–7, 10), bass guitar (3, 10, 11)
  • Gabriele Pribetti – saxophone (1)
  • Knox Brown – background vocals (2)
  • Storry – background vocals (2)
  • P2J – programming (2, 5, 6, 10, 11), bass guitar (2, 5, 10), drums (2)
  • Dave Daniels – cello (2)
  • Llinos Richards – cello (2)
  • Magda Pietraszewska – cello (2)
  • Victoria Harrild – cello (2)
  • Laurence Ungless – double bass (2)
  • Steve Williams – double bass (2)
  • Julian Hinton – strings (2, 3, 11); orchestra contractor, orchestra leader (2); programming (11)
  • Laurie Anderson – viola (2)
  • Lydia Lowndes-Northcott – viola (2)
  • Nick Barr – viola (2)
  • Paul Livingston – viola (2)
  • Anna Croad – violin (2)
  • Cathy Thompson – violin (2)
  • Emma Fry – violin (2)
  • Henry Salmon – violin (2)
  • Jackie Roche – violin (2)
  • Jamie Hutchinson – violin (2)
  • Janice Graham – violin (2)
  • Jo Archard – violin (2)
  • Kirsty Mangan – violin (2)
  • Martin Lissola – violin (2)
  • Natalia Bonner – violin (2)
  • Stephanie Benedetti – violin (2)
  • Steve Morris – violin (2)
  • Tom Kemp – violin (2)
  • Amaarae – vocals (2)
  • Black Sherif – vocals (2)
  • Ms Banks – vocals (2)
  • Jojo Mukeza – electric guitar, programming (3)
  • George Moore – piano (3, 11), programming (3)
  • Ras Kassa Alexander – piano (3)
  • Stephanie Hatchman – background vocals (4)
  • Linden Jay – bass guitar (4, 8)
  • Dion Wardle – keyboards (4, 8), piano (5, 8, 9, 12)
  • Owen Cutts – keyboards (4, 8), background vocals (6)
  • Godwin Sonzi – guitar (5)
  • Juls – programming (5)
  • Sheila Maurice-Grey – trumpet (5)
  • Ayra Starr – vocals (5)
  • Oxlade – background vocals (6)
  • Teni – background vocals (6)
  • Äyanna – background vocals (6, 7)
  • Abdala Elamin – background vocals (7)
  • Maleik Loveridge – choir (7), background vocals (9)
  • Naomi Parchment – choir (7), background vocals (9)
  • Olivia Williams – choir (7), background vocals (9)
  • Serena Prince – choir (7), background vocals (9)
  • Akin Amusan – choir (7)
  • Cherice Voncelle – choir (7)
  • Daniel Arieleno – choir (7)
  • James Thompson – choir (7)
  • Kieran Briscoe – choir (7)
  • Nathaniel Warner – choir (7)
  • Nicholas Brown – choir (7)
  • Patrick Linton – choir (7)
  • Paul Lee – choir (7)
  • Renee Fuller – choir (7)
  • Taneka Duggan – choir (7)
  • India Arie – vocals (11)

Technical

  • Dale Becker – mastering
  • Naweed – mastering, CD Album / Singles
  • Leandro "Dro" Higaldo – mixing (1, 2, 5–7, 10, 11)
  • Alex Ghenea – mixing (3, 9)
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (4, 8, 12)
  • Joel Peters – engineering
  • Calum Landau – engineering (3, 6, 12), engineering assistance (1, 2, 4, 5, 7–11)
  • Mat Bartram – engineering (3)

Charts
Chart performance for This Is What I Mean
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 72
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 58
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[20] 25
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 48
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 96
Irish Albums (OCC)[23] 10
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 40
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[26] 40
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 35
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 1
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[29] 1
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[30] 1

Certifications
Certifications for This Is What I Mean
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Silver 60,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Arcand, Rob (12 October 2022). "Stormzy Announces New Album This Is What I Mean". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  2. Darville, Jordan (12 October 2022). "Stormzy announces new album This Is What I Mean". The Fader. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  3. Kenneally, Cerys (13 October 2022). "Stormzy announces first This Is What I Mean single 'Hide & Seek'". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  4. Holden, Finlay (10 November 2022). "Stormzy has released a second single, 'Firebabe', from his upcoming third album, 'This Is What I Mean'". Dork. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  5. Smith, Carl (12 January 2023). "BRIT Awards 2023 nominations REVEALED". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  6. Blistein, Jon (12 October 2022). "Grime Star Stormzy Returning With Third Album 'This Is What I Mean'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  7. Neale, Matthew (12 October 2022). "Stormzy announces new album 'This Is What I Mean'". NME. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  8. Murray, Tom (12 October 2022). "Stormzy announces 'intimate' new album This Is What I Mean". The Independent. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  9. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  10. Mellen, James (25 November 2022). "Stormzy – This Is What I Mean". Clash. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  11. Smyth, David (25 November 2022). "Stormzy This is What I Mean album review – he's already the GOAT, now he's a grown-up". Evening Standard. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  12. Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (25 November 2022). "Stormzy: This Is What I Mean review — grace and vulnerability from the UK's most significant rapper". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  13. Petridis, Alexis (25 November 2022). "Stormzy: This Is What I Mean review – haunted by heartbreak on his most personal album yet". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  14. Moore, Sam (25 November 2022). "Stormzy – 'This Is What I Mean' review: levelling up on his own terms". NME. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  15. Pritchard, Will (1 December 2022). "Stormzy: This Is What I Mean Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  16. McCormick, Neil (25 November 2022). "With this powerful torch album, Stormzy abandons the macho to reveal rap's soft side". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  17. Hodgkinson, Will (25 November 2022). "Stormzy: This Is What I Mean review—The megastar's third album is a major achievement". The Times. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  18. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 5 December 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1709. Australian Recording Industry Association. 5 December 2022. p. 6.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Stormzy – This Is What I Mean" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  20. "Hitlisten.NU – Album Top-40 Uge 48, 2022". Hitlisten. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Stormzy – This Is What I Mean" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  22. "Offiziellecharts.de – Stormzy – This Is What I Mean" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  23. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  24. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  25. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  26. "Veckolista Album, vecka 48". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  27. "Swisscharts.com – Stormzy – This Is What I Mean". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  28. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  29. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  30. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  31. "British album certifications – Stormzy – This Is What I Mean". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
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