Little Simz

Little Simz, an authoritative and lyrical rapper who also pursues acting, emerged among hip-hop’s most prominent figures after launching her career at the start of the 2010s. Early independent projects Blank Canvas (2013) and E.D.G.E. (2014) earned her a Worldwide Awards nomination, marking the British-Ghanaian artist’s first significant recognition. Momentum built further with the vividly imaginative A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons (2015) and Stillness in Wonderland (2016), her initial two albums, before she teamed with producer Inflo on Grey Area (2019) and Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (2021). Both releases reached the top of the U.K. R&B chart; the former received an Ivor Novello award, while the latter claimed the Mercury Prize. Working rapidly, Simz delivered the confident and hard-edged No Thank You at the close of 2022. Early 2024 brought the more scaled-down EP Drop 7.

Born and raised in Islington, London, Simbiatu Ajikawo—initially performing as Lil Simz—began establishing herself as an actor during her teenage years, appearing first in the BBC series Spirit Warriors and later in E4’s Youngers. Having already performed at youth clubs ahead of those screen roles, she viewed music as her central pursuit; between 2010 and 2013, while featured in the two series, she issued her first four self-released mixtapes. Stratosphere, Stratosphere 2, XY.Zed, and the particularly well-received Blank Canvas were followed by multiple EPs, including the album-length E.D.G.E., across 2014 and into 2015. She received the Breakthrough Artist of the Year honor at BBC DJ Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards in early 2015, and that September released A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons, regarded as her first proper LP. Still operating independently through her Age 101 label, she issued Stillness in Wonderland in December 2016, a concept album drawing from Alice in Wonderland that examined the fluctuations of young adulthood alongside her growing familiarity with fame.

After supporting Gorillaz live and appearing on the group’s “Garage Palace” in 2017—the same year she narrated the animated documentary shorts series Afrofuturism—Simz secured a licensing arrangement with the Sony-owned AWAL Recordings. Her third album was introduced in 2018 via several of her rawest yet most musical tracks, created with producer Inflo. Grey Area, the resulting project, arrived the following March, with Inflo handling production throughout except for contributions from Sigurd and Astronote on individual tracks. Featured appearances came from Inflo associates Michael Kiwanuka and Cleo Sol as well as Little Dragon and Chronixx. Grey Area became Simz’s first charting album, reaching number 87 on the main U.K. chart and topping the R&B chart; it earned a 2019 Mercury Prize nomination and won Best Album at the 2020 Ivor Novello Awards. Amid accumulating recognition, Simz resumed acting with a part in series three of Top Boy. The next September she debuted at number four on the U.K. album chart with Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, produced almost entirely by Inflo and featuring Cleo Sol on the celebratory single “Woman.” Critics widely praised the album, which among numerous honors secured the Mercury Prize and a MOBO for Album of the Year. In early December 2022, shortly after her MOBO win, Simz announced the surprise release of her fifth album, No Thank You. A sharply written treatise addressing mental health and the music industry, the project appeared with minimal promotional fanfare yet considerable swagger; its organic production, again supplied by Inflo, and rousing orchestral elements recalled the approach of her prior album while advancing her craft. Stepping away from full-length releases, Simz worked with U.K. producer Jakwob on 2024’s Drop 7, the newest entry in her ongoing Drop EP series. Though narrower in scope and more relaxed in tone, the seven-song set retained the rapper’s unmistakably sharp style.