Stormzy's stab vest goes on display in landmark exhibition of Black British music

Stormzy's stab vest goes on display in landmark exhibition of Black British music5 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMark SavageMusic correspondentPA MediaStormzy was the first British rap act to headline GlastonburyStormzy's stab-proof vest, which he wore during his headline set at Glastonbury, is one of the centrepieces of a new exhibition highlighting 125 years of black British music.The Music Is Black: A British Story is the very first installation at the brand new V&A East, which opens in London's Olympic Park this weekend.It also includes Joan Armatrading's childhood guitar, stage outfits from Seal and Poly Styrene, and the handwritten lyrics to Michael Jackson's Thriller.The show traces how imported genres like jazz, reggae and the blues gave rise to the distinctly British sounds of Two Tone, Garage, Trip Hop and Grime.Stormzy's vest, which was designed by Banksy and emblazoned with the Union Jack, is displayed near the end of the exhibition - illustrating how music can address issues of national identity, street crime, and prejudice."That's the beauty of street art, of graffiti, of rap music, is that it's making you think constantly about issues you don't really want to confront," says Jacqueline Springer, who curated the show for the V&A."This is about ambition pursued against legal restriction, against moral and against racial discrimination. "What we're looking at here is the way that art always penetrates, always gets through."David Parry for the V&AThe vest previously sold for £780,000 at a Sotheby's auctionThe exhibition frames Stormzy's statement - made as he became the first British rapper to headline Glastonbury - in a historical context of protest and rebellion.Before we get to it, the gallery takes us on a cross-continental, decades-long journey, showing how music from Africa and the Caribbean was shaped by colonialism and religion, then tr...