Little Simz
Lotus
AWAL
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There’s trouble in paradise. In March this year, news surfaced that Little Simz was in financial dispute with Inflo, the producer and co-composer of Simz’ stellar last three albums. While hardly a new or unique thing in the music business, the dispute felt like a body blow to listeners like me who had projected onto the SAULT collective a sense of musical purity, pride and artistic freedom in a world mired in shady dealings and seemingly endless bullshit.
Lotus, her sixth album, is not entirely consumed by that apparent betrayal, but it certainly provides ample ammunition for an album that pulls no punches but offers gossip-mongers no specific names to get excited about. However, listening to Simz on Louis Theroux’s podcast, the pregnant pauses laden with meanings that accompanied Louis’ gentle interrogation would struggle to be interpreted any other way.
That betrayal is the main focus on at least three of the thirteen songs here and no lyric is wasted on anything other than a vitriolic outpouring of hurt and bitterness. On album opener “Thief,” Simz is unrelenting in her takedown of he who shall not be named, while the drums pound. “You talk about God, when you have a God complex … I’m lucky I got out, now it’s a shame / though I really feel sorry for your wife.”
Though the accompaniment may be simpler, the same irrepressible bile is present on “Hollow,” as evidenced in lines like, “You was moving like one leech / But your presence is far from a treat … You told me to be wary of the sharks and then you became one … Imposter posing, your life ain’t candid / No song you make can repair the damage.”
On that same podcast, she spoke at length about the accompanying effect on her confidence and motivation to make further material. Breaking away after three such successful and critically lauded albums (2019’s GREY Area, 2021’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, and 2022’s NO THANK YOU) in partnership with someone with whom you are exceptionally close would be difficult and cause you to question whether you could succeed without them. And so it proves, on the hauntingly effective “Lonely” (“Lonely making an album is, tackling all doubt / I’m used to making it with _____, can I do it without?”).
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Clearly though, there was no need whatsoever for Little Simz to doubt herself or be doubted by anyone else, as this album is a triumph of self-expression and singular artistic vision. And her rediscovered confidence is expressed to thrilling effect in many places on the album. On “Enough” (featuring Yukimi from Little Dragon), she raps with an ebullience and braggadocio that her skills justify: “I am an electric Black girl / I’m not the one to test / I can’t take disrespect.” And on “Lion,” one of two features with the always welcome Obongjayar, she asserts herself with style and aplomb: “I roll up in this bitch looking Nefertiti / Better kiss the ring when you see me.”
In Miles Clinton James, Simz finds a producer and co-writer who more than steps up to the plate, offering some similarities to her previous work but, at the same time, dabbling in other shades and hues along the way. Other key (and, in some case, returning) contributors are Michael Kiwanuka, Yussuf Dayes, Obongjayar and the string arrangements of Rosie Danvers and they all combine to realize another thrilling album to add to Simz’s already impressive body of work.
What always impresses me about Simz (beyond her obvious songwriting and lyrical prowess) is the fact that she sees the music not just as an accompaniment to her bars. She always leaves space for the music to breathe, confident in her ability to grab and hold the listener’s attention when she does pour out her heart. And across Lotus, she does that as well as—or maybe even better than—she has ever done.
Notable Tracks: “Flood” | “Hollow” | “Lotus” | “Thief” | “Young”
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