The razor-sharp lyricism and heart on sleeve confessionals of British rapper and hip hop extraordinaire Loyle Carner is a success story to warm the coldest heart. After all, this working-class lad – and latter-day BRIT school graduate – has been grafting at this game for ten years, something he proudly declares to Glastonbury’s Other Stage.

While his climb to the status of headliner has been slow (in spite of his 2015 debut record bagging a Mercury Prize nomination), he deserves every second of it. This is a supremely gifted British artist who bravely diverges from the unreconstructed stereotype that dogs the genre he occupies. By speaking affectionately about his mother, wife and kids in his raps, not to mention his emotional struggles in processing his upbringing, he takes a road less travelled in the hip hop game. Maybe that’s why a starry cast were eager to share a stage with him on Worthy Farm’s opening night as he headlined the Other Stage.

Cameos from Sampha, Jorja Smith and Madlib abounded, and whilst they could arguably otherwise overshadow an artist less assured and in possession of their own talent as Carner, they absolutely sprinkled some extra special Glastonbury magic to a spellbinding performance. Carner’s free flowing rhymes could easily sound like mellifluous sound effects from afar, but close inspection reveals them to be expertly crafted homespun philosophical aphorisms. Lyrical vignettes that flash a soul-bearing torch on self-improvement. This isn’t the sort of hackneyed phraseology you get from a zeitgeisty, celebrity-endorsed self-help book. It’s clear that Carner has walked the hard yards and is unafraid – and unashamed – to let everybody know it.

The slick beats and varied tempos of Carner’s set showcased an artist happy to trek varied terrain for musical gain. The crowd lapped up effervescent tracks such as ‘Speed of Plight’ and ‘Ain’t Nothing Changed’, while the skittering drums and jazzy undertones of new track ‘Horcrux’ showcased his diversity. The only way is up for wordsmith Carner. God knows where he’ll be in another ten years.