Berlin – These days, it is never certain where the next musical act to break through to massive stardom may emerge. With the advent of modern technology, less power for major record labels, and the increased creative leverage that artists now wield, a new commodity on the musical horizon is sometimes sitting right under one’s nose. One such artist that is destined to heat up the charts in a major way soon is one of Europe’s growing sensations, the tiny young woman with massive skills and global appeal.
Enter a new era of music.
Enter a new entrant in female MCs.
Enter Little Simz.
The genre of hip-hop, especially when it comes to female performers, has never been a straight path to the top. More often that not, women that enter the game have to play their role as the lone woman on a male-dominated single, album, or record label in order to finally (hopefully) have her own music featured after paying significant dues. From Lil’ Kim to Charli Baltimore, Foxy Brown to Nicki Minaj, one of the biggest components to their success has been the ability to spit rhymes while looking like the girlfriend that men want to have or the down chick that women want in their entourage. With the emergence of Britain’s sensation Little Simz, however, the blueprint for female rappers may be changing in ways like never before.
Since bursting onto the music scene seemingly overnight after appearing on the BBC in a few television shows that expanded her fanbase, the rapper and singer cemented her stardom once she decided to delve into and deliver music that has packed a wallop far bigger than her small frame. Little Simz (nee Simbi Ajikawo) has already set her sights on a jaunt into the world of hip-hop that is re-writing the history books of the genre, one track at a time. Using Soundcloud as a firm base to establish herself by releasing a slew of tracks, Simz has garnered a following that other artists, whether male or female, would be quite content to possess. Between 2010 and 2014, the then workaholic teen from North London cut four mixtapes that left more than just an impression on the site, but ventured far beyond it, getting the attention of some of the most prominent people in the industry.
It was the release last year of Black Canvas that attracted none other than the Jigga Man himself, who featured Simz on his Life + Times website. With such early praise from Jay-Z in her young career, there were still pundits out there questioning the route at which her fame was being achieved. Indeed, most female MCs don’t launch their own record label imprint, either in the previous analog world or the new digital one. Little Simz, attempting to placate the naysayers calling her merely an internet sensation, next cut her teeth as a performer, sharing the stage with noted acts such as Estelle, Ms. Dynamite, and Tinie Tempah, all formidable female artists in their own right. Further cementing her arrival? Two nominations at the 2014 MOBO Awards: for best newcomer and best hip-hop categories. And a set at last year’s SXSW in Austin left no question that this was not a game, nor a fluke: Little Simz, at only 20 years of age, was an artist to be reckoned with.
With her latest release (and her official debut) E.D.G.E. (Every Day Gets Easier), Little Simz is mapping her own blueprint for success that the next generation of female MCs (and possibly her male counterparts as well) will be taking notes on years from now. As with previous offerings, the ‘little woman that can’ has laid down an impressive range, taking listeners in a direction that most her age would never dare to. Unlike most new artists, Simz has made the bold decision to make the production primarily hers by calling most of the shots and using the same producers she has been utilizing since deciding to venture into music. They include High Frequency, Tilla, Josh Arce, Chuck20, and artists like Saint Heron and Iman Omari. With standout tracks on her latest production that include “Bad,” and “Mandarin Oranges,” the intent is as evident as the lyrics she wrote; Little Simz will ride or die by her own words. Don’t expect a straight path to her flow: Little Simz drops in and out, tackles the hook then attacks it, throws in loops, and expands the sound beyond the conventional. This is not your parents’ hip-hop.
Welcome to the new definition of the female MC.
Catch Little Simz return to SXSW this March, along with several other dates.
Triston Brewer
artist, writer, event organizer, and promoter. As a
freelance journalist, he has covered both the underground and
mainstream aspects of the arts, culture, music, entertainment, travel, and
fashion in several cities, including New York, London, Berlin,
Istanbul, Sydney, Bangkok, and Hong Kong to name a few. Fluent in
English, German, Dutch, and Spanish, Triston has been published in The
Huffington Post, Trespass (London), FashionTV, as
well as featured in publications such as the New York Times, Vogue
Italia, Turkish Huriyet, InStyle, and other on-line and print
magazines in the U.S. and internationally. He recently released the first volume
of his memoir on life in Europe, 'Heaux Confessionals: The
Sintroduction'. As a solo performer and with his project band $kandal
Du$t, he has toured in some of the world's most renown clubs,
simultaneously maintaining an underground renaissance,
blurring the lines of all that is traditional and leaving his
indelible, and ultimately unforgettable impression. There is no divide
- brace yourself.
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