Stormzy returns with Fredo-featuring new single, ‘Toxic Trait’

Stormzy has returned with a new single, ‘Toxic Trait’ – you can see the video below.

“After listening to the lyrics, I wanted to have fun with this video,” said Ladi, who shot the clip in London earlier this year using a high-speed robotic camera. “I liked the idea of bringing a renaissance-style painting to life, whilst still feeling grounded in the world of Stormzy. We collaborated on all the scenarios together which was great – as well as being able to bring in the likes of Fredo and Alison Hammond for their own toxic therapy sessions!”

The grime icon has teamed up with Fredo for the track, his first as a lead artist this year. The track’s heavyweight credentials are further bolstered by production from Santan, better known as Dave, while the video, from British director Femi Ladi, reflects the track’s political undertones, taking an unflinching look at the harsh reality of glorified ‘luxury’ lifestyles. It features This Morning presenter Alison Hammond, as well as cameos from Wretch 32, Ivorian Doll and Specs Gonzalez.

The song itself recalls last year’s viral hit ‘Mel Made Me Do It’ in its rapid-fire delivery and cutting lyricism. The song arrives just days after Stormzy spoke exclusively to Rolling Stone UK about his new digital concert experience, which launches on Spotify next month. He discussed his next moves in the Q&A, having recently returned to the studio. “When I’m making music, it’s always super deep, but it’s never that deep,” he said. “I can’t explain it, it’s deep because I take music so seriously, and it’s my craft and it’s my passion. I promise you, I’ll just go to the studio and however I feel that day, that’s what I do.I try not to be super premeditated.”

“There are times when I’m intentional if I need to be intentional, when it’s like, ‘This is what I’m doing. I want to make this kind of song’,” he continued. “But I just go there and I just pray to God, I’ll literally pray to God, and everyone in the room prays and we’ll say, ‘Let’s see where the Spirit takes us today’. It’s literally a random box. I think that’s why, over my career, you get all these different flavours and these different genres and these different styles, because it literally is just that, it’s just me going to the studio and trying to figure it out when I’m there.”