Little Simz Elevates Herself With SIMBAI

I am a horrible dancer. For those few that have had the displeasure of watching me shake and move in my disjointed fashion, you’ll understand. With that in mind, I do not listen to music to dance, I listen to music to create a certain headspace for myself. Music helps me focus or gets me excited. I usually turn to punk rock or Australian rap in times like these, until Little Simz came out with “Sometimes I Might be an Introvert” (“SIMBAI”). I have listened to British rap for several years, and Little Simz for just as long, but with her newest album she has ascended to greatness.

“SIMBAI” was released on Friday, Sept. 3, and consists of 19 songs, cumulatively lasting an hour and six minutes. While it’s a long album, you’ll never get bored. Simz makes use of elements such as Afrobeat, electronica, R&B, rap, soul and jazz. No two songs are the same, and listening to the album all the way through is like going on an adventure.

The first song of the album, “Introvert,” opens with a dramatic, soundtrack-sounding drum beat. You’ll think a war is about to begin. When I heard the drums, I was hooked; I wanted more, especially when the drums ended, the tempo and theme of the beat alternated to an entirely different composition and Little Simz began rapping. Throughout her album, especially in “Introvert,” her beats are consistently interesting, and her lyrics are immaculate. She raps with joy, frustration, anger and playfulness. While listening to “SIMBAI”, you’ll never be ready for where the next song, verse or lyric will go. Simz plays with your expectations and shows you that you only think you know what to expect from a modern rap album.

Additionally, the cover art of “SIMBAI” is eye-catching and creates immediate intrigue in the thematic conception of the album, which Simz herself has been vague about. Cloaked in yellow and black checkers, in front of a yellow background, I find myself struggling to decide if I want to be her, or be her best friend.

Another song that I enjoyed was “Fear No Man,” which has a particularly strong vein of

Afrobeat within its vocals and instrumental usage. A lyric that particularly caught my attention was, “Don't get me irate, ain't no stoppin' God's plan Everybody bleeds red, so I fear no man.”

Simz’s ability to dramatize while simultaneously discussing a personal belief system is what I particularly enjoy about her lyricism. Her lyrical talent has been a constant throughout her career, since her first album, “A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons.”

Whether you have been listening to Little Simz since 2015 or 2021, it is easy to see why she is beginning to emerge on the mainstream rap scene. In my house, she is not far from God, if God was clad in a yellow and black checkerboard outfit.