“I haven’t even scraped the surface in my mind. I’m so hungry to continue to push and reach great heights.”

By 21-years-old, actor, musician and self-proclaimed introvert Little Simz had already written and released four mixtapes, five EPs, and an album on her own self-established label Age 101. For her upcoming fourth album, she shut down the Natural History Museum to film the music video for debut single “Introvert,” simultaneously self-directed and starred in another titled “Woman,” and convinced The Crown’s Emma Corrin to voice her interludes. And even though her third album Grey Area, won Best Album at both the 2020 Ivor Novello Awards and the NME Awards, Simz still believes she’s overlooked – and rightly so. Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Lauryn Hill, and more are united in their unwavering praise for the lyrical maverick. Her loyal fans compare her to ‘Picasso with a pen’ because of her incomparable and academically savvy bars. But for all the innate power of her lyrics and what she stands for, Simz undeniably deserves more recognition. Perhaps her introversion does separate her from explosive mainstream success – not that topping the charts is especially on her agenda. Or simply put, it’s more difficult to make it as a woman in the male-saturated world of rap. Either way, this is something she’s still trying to figure out. But one thing’s for certain: her new album bulldozes any barriers she’s previously built to protect herself from the masses. Ahead of the release of her most honest album to date, she opens up to Zeze Millz about being overlooked in the industry, doing things her own way, and how she defines success by becoming 100% her ‘ultimate self’.

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