Little Simz - Lotus (2025) [Hi-Res]

Album review

Simbiatu Ajikawo is the rare major U.K. rapper to scuttle past grime entirely, shining early with her no-nonsense flow on 2019's excellent Grey Area without nearly hinting at the full expanse of her musical desires. That came soon enough in the extraordinary sonic world-building of 2021's sprawling, orchestra-backed breakthrough, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, netting her more critical plaudits than any woman in U.K. rap history and a Mercury Prize. No Thank You, the dizzying follow-up a year later, split the difference between the widescreen and the granular— even within the same song; the excellent "Gorilla" switched between boisterous fanfare and hard, minimal boom-bap like a train shifts tracks. With nothing else to prove, the auteur we know as Little Simz resurfaces three years later with no lack of troubles to get off her chest, delivered in style, of course.

Every single cut on her sixth album, Lotus, slams with the real-room impact of a live, played drumkit. "I paid for that jet," Simz raps on "Thief," which laments the reality-warping damage of a gaslighting abuser. It's followed by "Flood," a determination to not abuse her power that features support from Obongjayar and Moonchild Sanelly. The eye-rolling sarcasm of "Young" recalls monologue-prone peers like Kae Tempest or The Streets and ends by drawing attention to the live instrumentation, letting a discreet bass solo kick off "Only," a dead ringer for the off-kilter, rap-narrated jazz of Noname's Room 25. This being Simz, she reveals a full palette of emotions in no time. The swooping strings of "Free" mirror one of the lighter spots defining love as the "eradication of fear." Always introspective and unafraid to speak her mind or call out those who've disappointed her, it's still Simz' voracious musical vocabulary—from the bicycle bell-cum-music box of "Enough" to the muted Afrobeat groove of "Lion"—that sets her apart from not just any other rapper but any other musician. © Daniel Aaron

Tracklist:
1-1 Little Simz - Thief [4:00]
1-2 Little Simz;Moonchild Sanelly;Obongjayar - Flood [2:48]
1-3 Little Simz - Young [2:50]
1-4 Little Simz;Lydia Kitto - Only [3:36]
1-5 Little Simz - Free [3:36]
1-6 Little Simz;Moses Sumney;Miraa May - Peace [4:28]
1-7 Little Simz - Hollow [2:55]
1-8 Little Simz;Obongjayar - Lion [2:58]
1-9 Little Simz;Yukimi - Enough [3:02]
1-10 Little Simz;Wretch 32;Cashh - Blood [4:28]
1-11 Little Simz;Michael Kiwanuka;Yussef Dayes - Lotus [6:36]
1-12 Little Simz - Lonely [4:26]
1-13 Little Simz;Sampha - Blue [4:14]