Artist

Little Simz

Islington, United Kingdom • b. 1994

Little Simz is a musician from Islington, United Kingdom, active since 1994. Their discography on Gatefold includes 13 records.

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Albums tracked

100

In collections

1994

Since

Biography

Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo, better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British rapper, singer and actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums, namely A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons (2015), Stillness in Wonderland (2016) and Grey Area (2019), the latter of which was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize and won the awards for Best Album at both the Ivor Novello Awards and the NME Awards.

The Arc of Little Simz

The pivots — what forced Little Simz to reinvent.

The AGE 101 Drops
Between 2014 and 2015, Simz flooded the zone with the Drop series to prove her technical proficiency. These releases were the sound of a rapper obsessed with the architecture of a verse, recorded with the Space Age collective while she was still navigating the independent hustle. You hear the hunger in the speed of the delivery, but the production was still searching for a definitive identity beyond the North London underground.
The Inflo Evolution
The pivot happened when she handed the keys to Inflo for GREY Area and Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. Moving away from the colder, digital textures of her early work, she embraced a lush, orchestral sound that felt like 70s soul session players took over a rap studio. This era redefined her as a composer as much as a lyricist, utilizing live drums and sweeping strings to create a cinematic scale that most rappers can't touch without a massive corporate budget.
The Defiant Reset
After the massive critical sweep of Introvert, Simz dropped NO THANK YOU with almost zero warning in 2022. This was a brutal reaction to the industry's parasitic nature, stripping back the maximalism for something leaner and more focused. The record sounds like a private conversation between her and Inflo, ditching the polished rollouts to reclaim the independence she felt she was losing to the fame machine.

Influences

Lauryn Hill — Simz has cited The Miseducation as her primary blueprint for balancing melodic vulnerability with top-tier rapping. You hear the DNA of Hill’s unplugged sessions in the way Simz handles her more acoustic, soul-leaning bridges. It’s the same refusal to choose between being a vocalist and a lyricist.
Missy Elliott — The influence is documented through Simz's frequent praise of Missy's visual and sonic risk-taking, leading to a direct co-sign from Elliott herself. The adventurous, off-kilter percussion on tracks like 'Gorilla' reflects that same Virginian freak-beat energy. It's about maintaining a weird edge while staying funky.
Jay-Z — Simz studied the business model of Roc-A-Fella to build her own independent label, Forever Living Originals. Beyond the business, the cool, detached confidence in her flow mirrors the Blueprint-era Hov. She prioritizes the pocket of the beat over theatrical screaming.
Nina Simone — The unapologetic political stance and the use of the piano as a foundational tool come straight from Simone’s playbook. Simz has noted Nina’s influence on her worldview, which manifest as the heavy, deliberate pauses in her live performances. She understands that silence in a song carries as much weight as a drum fill.
Busta Rhymes — Simz has pointed to Busta's animated delivery and technical speed as a massive early influence on her flow. You can hear it in the rapid-fire cadence of 'Venom,' where the syllable count per bar hits that frantic, early Flipmode Squad level of intensity. Holy shit, the breath control on those tracks is pure Busta.