Music
The evolution of UK rapper Little Simz
The London rapper's third album GREY Area has been met with massive universal acclaim. It looks like now is finally her time. Here we chart Simz's journey so far.
Little Simz, real name Simbi Ajikawo, has, just four months into 2019, released what might turn out to be the album of the year – a record that will, if all is correct in the world, turn all her acclaim into proper mainstream success.
Simz’s ambitious, storytelling songs, which blend trippy, genre-bending psychedelia, moody soundscapes, old-school beats and peerless lyrical dexterity, have made her every rappers’ favourite rapper. There's been no shortage of major tour supports, co-signs and guest appearances either. But until now commercial success has eluded her.
GREY Area, though, with its mix of stark, confessional tracks and catchy pop hooks appeals as much to serious hip-hop fans as it does mainstream radio's make-or-break playlist-makers. It's finally Little Simz's time to take the spotlight. Here's how she got here.
2001: Little Simz discovers hip-hop
Simz, who grew up in north London, around Essex Road, was immersed in the world of hip-hop earlier than most. Aged seven, she became completely infatuated with its beats and rhymes, and it was all thanks to Missy Elliot.
“I used to dance at that time, so I wanted to be in her videos," Little Simz told Red Bull Music in 2015. "And from that point on, I just fell in love with hip-hop. Then I got into Lauryn Hill, and I got more in-depth with it: Tupac, Nas, Jay-Z… Then I started making my own music.”
2003: Little Simz finds her voice at her local youth club
Simz has cited the importance of her local youth club. From the age of nine, she was performing freestyles there to her friends, and collaborating with other kids. And at a time when UK youth centres are closing at an alarming rate, Simz has been clear about their importance for kids with limited opportunities.
“It was very influential on me," she told Red Bull Music. "Just because it was where it all began for me, it was like a second home. It was somewhere to go after school instead of just hanging round on the roads, causing trouble or whatever. We had dance, the gym for the boys, cooking classes, we used to go on trips. It was like a big family.”
3 min
Little Simz - Age 101
Little Simz performs Age 101 exclusively for RedBull.com/Music.
2008: Little Simz takes up acting
Simz took up acting for a bit, appearing in children's TV fantasy show Spirit Warriors, and then in the London-based youth drama Youngers. Rumours abound that Simz is set to take a part in Drake’s Netflix reboot of Top Boy, but back then, acting only served to focus Simz's attention back on music.
“With acting, I had to put my life on hold and I’m not sure how much I like that!" she told Red Bull Music. "But when it's my music, it's my special thing – I can do what I want, I can live, and I can talk about life through it. I don't really have to put my music on hold, I can just go about my everyday life and have experiences and have things to talk about. So that's what separates the two for me.”
3 min
Little Simz - Mandarin Oranges Part 2
Little Simz performs Mandarin Oranges Part 2 exclusively for RedBull.com/Music.
2010: Little Simz releases her first mixtape, Stratosphere
Nine years ago, Little Simz decided to finally put her music out there by delivering her first mixtape, Stratosphere. Three more followed, including 2013’s Blank Canvas, which Jay-Z released on his Life+Times website. It didn't take long for others to notice Simz's impressive flow.
In 2014, she was invited on a ScHoolboy Q tour. "It was my first tour and to be doing it on that scale was live – I followed him to Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham, two London shows… it’s definitely opened a lot of doors for me,” she told Red Bull Music.
After that, Mos Def, Dizzee Rascal, Andre 3000 and Lauryn Hill all got on board, and Kendrick Lamar told the world that Little Simz "might be the illest doing it right now".
2015: Little Simz releases her debut album, A Curious Tale Of Trials + Persons
Simz showcased her conceptual approach to songwriting on an ambitious debut mixing up quasi-autobiographical tracks with songs written from the perspective of fictional characters. And all at the age of just 21. As well as flexing her musical chops, Simz also displayed a determination to do things her own way by self-releasing her music.
"I’m not doing all [my music] on my own label as some big “f*** you”, firing shots at anybody," she told Red Bull Music at the time. "It’s just that I haven’t met a label yet whom I can trust to hand my work over to. This is all just way too precious to me. I guess I’m just a control freak when it comes to my music"
2016: Little Simz releases her second album, Stillness in Wonderland
Little Simz's second album has been called a coming-of-age record, but that only condescends what came before. Instead, it was just the next stage in a creative journey that saw her stopping off in pastoral, prog-rap territory.
A fantastical collection of tracks featuring Syd, Chronixx and BADBADNOTGOOD, and refracting her own reality through the psychedelic kaleidoscope of Alice In Wonderland, it is, she's said, a proper body of work.
"I wanted it to feel like an audio experience. I wanted you to feel almost immersed in Wonderland," she told UK magazine Grazia. “I’m learning new ways to use my voice. Before, I used to feel like I needed to shout all the time and just learning that there’s just different ways to deliver certain things."
2017: Little Simz teams up with Gorillaz
While still recording her second album, UK grime star Kano recommended Little Simz to Gorillaz’s Damon Albarn when he needed a new voice for a track by his animated band. Simz was initially “mad nervous” but, she told Grazia, took the whole thing in her stride: "We kicked it. It was cool."
Joining an illustrious list of artists who've worked with Gorillaz, including Snoop, De La Soul, Grace Jones, Mos Def, Neneh Cherry and Kelela, Simz jumped on the track Garage Palace from the expanded edition of Gorillaz's 2017 album Humanz. She also joined the band on their Humanz tour, as both opening act and collaborator. Which brings us to…
2019: Little Simz releases GREY Area
After a whirlwind few years on the tour-record-tour treadmill, Simz was determined to get back to doing her own thing, in her own way. She decamped to LA with friend and producer Inflol, and together they turned their deep conversations about life, tragedy and break-ups into the defiant, emotional and sometimes uncomfortably personal tracks that litter GREY Area.
“I’ve been vulnerable," Little Simz told Crack earlier this year. "It’s not been easy to talk about the things I talked about on this album. It’s like, am I really trying to put my business out there like that? And I’ve just been like fuck it. This is my release, this is my therapy. I’ve been through a lot in the past 12 months and I’m just going to say it. That’s me pushing myself."
