Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born February 23, 1994), known professionally under her Stage Name Little Simz, is an English-Nigerian rapper (born and raised in London to Nigerian parents). She initially rose to prominence through several mixtapes and critically-acclaimed independent releases starting from 2010, including her 2015 and 2016 albums A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons and Stillness in Wonderland. Her 2019 album, Grey Area, was her first to be released through AWAL, a partnership that would continue with 2021's Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, and 2022's No Thank You.
Simz' musical style, while primarily considered Hip-Hop and having some formative affiliation with the UK grime scene, draws more influence from classic genres that hip-hop owes a lot to, including traditional reggae, blues, jazz, R&B, and Afrobeat. Simz' delivery is deadpan, but tight and intensely charged with bold narratives, with her song topics ranging from broad systemic struggles of being a woman, a racial minority, and many other "out" groups, to intimate issues surrounding family, mental health, and finding peace within a flawed world surrounding a flawed self.
In addition to her work as a musician, Simz has had several roles as an actor, including a starring role in the 2019 revival of Top Boy, The Power (2023), and an As Herself appearance in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Discography
Studio albums
- A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons (2015)
- Stillness in Wonderland (2016)
- Grey Area (2019)
- Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (2021)
- No Thank You (2022)
- Lotus (2025)
Extended plays
- E.D.G.E. (2014)
- Age 101: Drop 1 (2014)
- Age 101: Drop 2 (2014)
- Time Capsule (2014)
- Age 101: Drop 3|000 (2014)
- The Theory Of... (with Space Age) (2015)
- Age 101: Drop 4 (2015)
- Age 101: Drop X (2015)
- Project Unfollow (2018)
- Drop 6 (2020)
- Drop 7 (2024)
Little Simz' music contains examples of the following:
- Beware the Quiet Ones: A recurring motif in Simz's music is an acknowledgement that she's usually quite introverted and reserved, but by no means is she timid or even uncommunicative, and she will gladly assert herself and her beliefs with full confidence should she be tested.
- Boastful Rap:
- "Offense" is her introductory declaration of her lyrical abilities and being completely unapologetic towards her critics.
- "Boss" being her assertion of how many accolades and achievements in the musical game she achieved without needing a record label, and thus on her own independent terms.Rejected the dotted line but not the pen
Invested in myself, that was money well spent
- Call-Back: The "Gems" interlude on Sometimes I Might Be Introvert is built around a sparkling arpeggio riff that was previously used in "Woman" earlier on the album, appropriately on the lyric "Diamonds are forever / Miss Sierra Leone, lookin' like a gem."
- Cold Ham: Simz' style of vocal delivery, at face value, is quite deadpan and stoic, but also manages to be dramatic and forceful in ways that complements the often intense emotions and poise presented by her lyrics and the colorful, flowery instrumentals accompanying her.
- Concept Album:
- Stillness in Wonderland follows a loose narrative inspired by Simz' initial come-up and brushes against becoming famous, with songs detailing the struggles of someone trying to make sense out of a confusing "wonderland" of fantasies and parsing truth and awareness from the reality beneath it.
- Sometimes I Might Be Introvert follows a lightly autobiographical narrative of Simz (or rather, "Simbi") picking her own brain and understanding her various conflicting emotions that make up her sense of self, from her desire for solitude due to her introversion, her desire to uplift her fellow women, her loved ones, and society as a whole, her vulnerabilities surrounding her family, her identity as a British woman vs. the love for her Nigerian heritage, etc.
- Disappeared Dad: "I Love You, I Hate You", is all about her complicated relationship with her absent father. The circumstances surrounding his abandonment aren't delved into; the song is instead more about how it affected her even into adulthood, and as the title implies, Simz rallies quite a lot. On one hand, she resents him for his absence and how he deeply hurt her and her family, being frustrated by her inability to ever confront him and say anything reconciliatory or otherwise. On the other hand, she still loves her father because he is still family, and ultimately wants to let go from the trauma and move on, not just because it's exhausting, but because she's finding new strength from the rest of her adult life, including starting a family of her own.
- Female Empowerment Song:
- "Venom" is a very dark and visceral example, doubling as a scathing takedown of the misogyny within hip-hop culture, and a proclamation that — if rappers and publications feel the need to pigeonhole women and the acclaim they receive for their gender — rappers like her should be feared.
- "Introvert" has shades of this; while generally Simz' grand statement on the political state of the world and her fury towards the broken system, especially within her native UK, she nevertheless ends with an affirmative cry for change, proudly championing her identity in the process:My speech ain't involuntary, projecting intentions straight from my lungs
I'm a Black woman and I'm a proud one
We walk in blind faith not knowing the outcome
But as long as we're unified, then we've already won - "Woman" is Simz' tribute to the various women of the world that inspire her daily, most especially Black women from throughout many countries in Africa, as well as Jamaica, and India.Ain't nothin' without a woman, no
Woman to woman, I just wanna see you glow
Tell 'em what's up
- Fun with Acronyms: The title, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, can also be initialized as "SIMBI", one of Simz' more personal nicknames.
- In the Style of: The song and accompanying music video of "Gorilla" are evocative of the musical and visual style of Missy Elliott, full of humorous, almost conversationally-delivered brag raps, quirky, jazz sampling-centric instrumental loops, and wild, eclectic visuals that would feel right at home in the mid-90's/early 2000's.
- New Sound Album: Sometimes I Might Be Introvert features an extremely lush, cinematic sound palette compared to her previous albums, filled with lavish orchestra, strings, and choirs, along with additional moments hearkening to traditional Nigerian afrobeat. Combined with various theatrical spoken word interludes delivered almost like they're part of a Broadway musical or fairytale, it's easily her most "whimsical" album, even as it still contains the heart of hip-hop and R&B in its DNA.
- Painting the Medium: One of the lines from "I Love You, I Hate You" is "Lately, I'm paranoid, I feel my life is a mess / I'm just usin' my voice, hope it will have an effect". As she says those last few words, her voice suddenly filters with reverb and digital distortion, giving her voice a literal sound effect.
- Protest Song:
- "Pressure" is Simz' rumination on gun violence, racial tension, and wealth disparity, issues that the governments of the world continue to perpetuate for imperialistic reasons, additionally calling out the news for pushing a state of societal helplessness by highlighting everything morbid about it. The title comes from Simz' encouragement to her fans to stand firm against corruption, and to "keep applying pressure."
- "Introvert" sees Simz directly calling out widespread corruption within governments, especially that of the UK, speaking from her experiences from growing up in a lower/middle-class family as well as being a black woman in general, and that in spite of her own self-confessed insecurities and desire for solace as per her introversion, these are issues she feels are worth speaking out against.
- The Real Heroes: "Standing Ovation" sees Simz discussing her place of fame and influence, which she transitions into a celebration of those she sees as contributing amazing things to the world that she feels blessed standing next to:We built the pyramids, can't you see what we are blessed with?
From the hieroglyphics to the hood lyricist
The priests, the imams, the good books you live with, the Rumi quotes
The elder sisters, the tribal mantras, the Jazz players, holistic doctors
Spiritual teachers, doers, and the doulas
The protectors and the rulers, the kids of the future
The immortal soldiers and the fearless protest-protesters
The motivational speakers and the honest Black leaders
The divine healers, the everyday, low-paid believers
The overachievers in the shadow of the gatekeepers - Shout-Out:
- The chorus of "101 FM" has Simz mentioning playing PlayStation 2 games including Crash Bandicoot and Mortal Kombat while listening to Dizzee Rascal and Busta Rhymes in her youth.
- Within "Gorilla" is a brief tribute: "Rest in peace to Mac Miller."
- Siamese Twin Songs: From Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, "Point and Kill" transitions seamlessly into "Fear No Man". Even the music video of the former includes this transition, teasing the first half-minute or so of "Fear No Man" in its credits.
- Therapy Episode: "Therapy" sees Simz imagines herself speaking to an unseen therapist, exploring the reasons why she doesn't believe she needs to seek help but nevertheless gives the idea the benefit of the doubt. She makes it clear that she knows that she's stressed out about her life and emotions, but that she ultimately doesn't need some hypothetical miracle individual or epiphany to "save" her, trusting in herself to be able to surmount her problems on her own.
- Therapy Is for the Weak: "Therapy" is her rumination on why she's never felt the need for therapy, though also why she was considering the option. In the song, she imagines herself having a conversation with a therapist, going over her various insecurities and worries, her cynicism towards believing that she can really be "fixed" (let alone by someone she feels may be condescending in their compassion), and overall affirming herself with the belief that she's strong enough that she can still deal with her flaws and live a rich, fulfilling life.
- Youth Is Wasted on the Dumb: "Young" is a self-deprecating look at what Simz envisioned would be her craziest dreams from when she was younger, full of reckless abandon, partying and getting into fights, and just being generally irresponsible.
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