Music
Stormzy's “Hide & Seek” Is Inspired By A Real-Life Heartbreak
Along with some classic influences.
Hot on the heels of his cinematic masterpiece “Mel Made Me Do It” — a feast of star cameos and dexterous storytelling — Stormzy is back with another taster of his forthcoming new album, This Is What I Mean (out on Nov. 25). Though the South London rapper has never been one to shy away from self-reflection, there’s a tenderness to his latest track “Hide & Seek,” which sets it apart.
Featuring East London alt-soul artist Äyanna, and fast-rising Nigerian singers Tems, Teni, and Oxlade, “Hide & Seek” is accompanied by a music video starring Top Boy’s Saffron Hocking. In the video, Stormzy and Hocking play a loved-up couple who drift apart and split.
Speaking to Hits Radio, Stormzy said that he was heavily inspired by classic records by Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder when it came to making a more introspective track. “When I’ve listened to Whitney or Stevie they strike a chord with me,” he said. “When I hear this [“Hide & Seek”]... I ain’t saying I’m Whitney, I ain’t saying I’m Stevie, let’s respect the legends… but in terms of just how music can strike a chord in people, and that really hits somewhere that you can’t really describe. That’s what this song does with me, and I just hope it does the same with other people.”
Stormzy also shared in an essay he penned for Vogue that the enforced downtime during lockdown led him to reflect on his own relationships ahead of writing the song. “A year before, I had broken up with an ex-girlfriend and my responsibility for that was still weighing heavy on me,” Stormzy wrote, whilst reflecting on a transformative trip to Jamaica with a close circle of trusted friends.
“It felt like I had blood on my hands from devastating the world that we had created for ourselves and the feeling became unbearable,” he said. “Then, one evening, by the ocean, I sat and wrote out a long message. A message of accountability, not redemption. Seeking redemption at that point would have been both audacious and selfish, but it felt like the beginning of the real healing process — a process that, even if I didn’t know it then, would come to reshape me both as a man and an artist.”
And listening to the lyrics of “Hide & Seek,” Stormzy certainly seems to be expressing similar sentiments in the new single. “Heartbreak's such a dark place but we stay in it,” he says. Stormzy was last publicly linked with his ex-girlfriend Maya Jama, with the pair splitting in 2019, but remaining on good terms.
Take a look at the full “Hide & Seek” lyrics, below:
[Intro: Äyanna]
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
[Chorus: Oxlade]
Oh, girl, you're shining
You know you're my diamond
You need reminding
This moment of timing when your
Soul needs aligning
It's me you confide in
Seeking and hiding
You know where to find me, babe
[Post-Chorus: Teni & Oxlade]
(Feeling)
(Pressure)
(Pressure)
(Diamonds)
(You know where to find me, babe)
[Verse 1: Stormzy & Teni]
What's it gonna be?
What we gonna do?
Here we go again
This ain't nuttin' new
I ain't tryna run game but it's true 'cause you
(Came and you made me feel)
You call me for help, you gotta chill
Need time for yourself, you gotta heal
This ain't somethin' you felt, it's how you feel
(You came and you made me feel)
A'ight, we built this all wrong, I'll takе blame
But instead of us tearing it down, wе'll rearrange, baby
(Don't let it fall)
Don't let it fall girl, don't let it fall
[Bridge: Äyanna]
Don't wanna fight no more
Keep me where I belong
I've tried and I've tried
But I just can't hide from your love
[Chorus: Oxlade]
Oh, girl, you're shining
You know you're my diamond
You need reminding
This moment of timing when your
Soul needs aligning
It's me you confide in
Seeking and hiding
You know where to find me, babe
[Post-Chorus: Teni & Oxlade]
(Feeling) (I can feel it)
(Pressure)
(Pressure) (Don't you get that)
(Diamonds)
(You know where to find me, babe)
(Feeling) (I can feel it)
(Pressure) (Feel the pressure)
(Pressure)
(Diamonds)
(You're my diamond, oh)
[Verse 2: Stormzy]
What we looking for?
Lemme search now
Take your shoes off
Put your purse down
How you gonna tell me that it's never gonna work now?
Type of sh*t to make me put a verse down
Worse now, 'cause we made our bed and we gotta lay in it
Thought it wasn't hard for me but everyday it is
Heartbreak's such a dark place but we stay in it
What I'm saying is exactly what I say it is
I found you
I feel your presence when I'm not around you
Queen in your city, they need to crown you
Holy water, baby, let me drown you
Fire and water, I gotta 'low you
Burn out then reappear
Light still guiding you home, you know I'm there
And rest assured if you ever needed help
Or just need a place to hide, know I'll keep it to myself, word
[Chorus: Oxlade]
Oh, girl, you're shining
You know you're my diamond
You need reminding
This moment of timing when your
Soul needs aligning (Aligning)
It's me you confide in
Seeking and hiding
You know where to find me, babe
[Post-Chorus: Teni, Äyanna & Oxlade]
(Feeling) Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Oh, girl, you're shining
(Pressure) Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
You know you're my diamond
(Pressure) Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
You need reminding
(Diamonds)
This moment of timing when your
(Feeling) Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Soul needs aligning
(Pressure) Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
It's me you confide in
(Pressure) Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Seeking and hiding
(Diamonds)
You know where to find me, babe
