Stormzy and Ed Sheeran’s released the single “Take Me Back to London”, but the song was originally going to have a certain Marcy projects rapper representing on it. In an interview with Jonathan Ross, during the early development of the song, Jay Z wanted to contribute to the song. He asked Stormzy for stories and experiences concerning London that he could rap about.
“Before that, I loved ‘Take Me Back To London’ because I thought it was just going to be me and Ed,” he explained, “then Ed was like, ‘Jay is getting on it.'” The song sees Stormzy and Sheeran reminiscing about their youth in London, a vibe that would have arguably changed with Jay on the song. “We got into the studio and we were writing for this song and then he just stops the music and he said, ‘Tell me about London, I need some inspiration,'” he went on to explain, describing an ensuing conversation he called powerful and beautiful. “It was the greatest conversation of my life.” Ultimate, Stormzy felt that the addition of JAY-Z to the track would “change everything.”
