Little Simz Explains How She Spilled Her Heart Out On Her Breakthrough 'GREY Area'

The UK rapper, musician and innovator Little Simz (aka Simbiatu "Simbi" Ajikawo) is on a roll. In 2019, she has unveiled her most high profile album, GREY Area, and hit Coachella for the first time. Now she's destined for Splendour In The Grass.

"I'll be coming out with my band, which will be fun," Ajikawo says, from the road stateside. "I haven't played in Australia with my band yet. All the times I've been out there, it's just been me and my DJ. So I'm really excited to come out with my show as it is now and let you guys see what we've been doing around the world with it." 

Live, she's favouring GREY Area material, because "the support on it has been so crazy and every song is just so performable – every song is really fun to perform."

The North Londoner launched her career in the performing arts. In 2010, Ajikawo starred in the BBC's kids fantasy show Spirit Warriors. But she then dedicated herself to music, studying production at college and circulating mixtapes and EPs. Ajikawo premiered officially with 2015's cerebral album A Curious Tale Of Trials + Persons, which housed the gothic Dead Body. Next came the trippy narrative of Stillness In Wonderland, its single Poison Ivy featuring spiky guitar (which Ajikawo strummed on 2017's Australian tour). Ajikawo ushered a bold experimentation into grime, even as she transcended it. She also challenged hip hop's gender inequality, declaring herself a "King". Resolutely independent, Ajikawo received a co-sign from Kendrick Lamar. Still, it's only with her third outing, GREY Area, that she's been embraced by wider audiences. 

Ajikawo cut GREY Area primarily with producer Alex "Inflo" Baranowski, who, on the side, has composed things like the score to the Nureyev documentary. And the music is expansive, spanning electro (Offence, the lead single) and groovy neo-soul. Ajikawo recognises the LP as a watershed. "I definitely feel the change this time around. I think just maybe peeling back more layers and being a bit more direct with what I'm saying, concept-wise, and the production as well – this sound where we chose to go musically with the record – just opened it up and connected with more people in a way that I could only have hoped for." 

The response has been "very overwhelming", she admits, "but good nonetheless".

Indeed, GREY Area is more immediate, and less conceptual, Ajikawo revealing her inner life: the anxieties and frustrations. She simply needed to "vent". "I didn't go in the studio with the mentality of, 'I wanna make a #1 record,' or, 'I wanna make a smash hit.' It wasn't that at all. It was, 'I'm just going in the studio to spill my heart,' kinda thing. I don't have to pour my heart out every album I do, but I think, at this time in my life, I just had some things I wanted to address." 

The affecting closer, Flowers, a duet with London folkie Michael Kiwanuka, is especially sublime. Ajikawo was chuffed that he was already a fan.

Ajikawo has other unusual features in her discography. Early, she collaborated with Raleigh Ritchie – who, as the actor Jacob Anderson, is famous for portraying Grey Worm in Game Of Thrones – on his hip hop banger Cuckoo. Ajikawo was familiar with Anderson from Noel Clarke's film AdULTHOOD. She then discovered his music. "I thought he was sick." 

The pair were introduced by their managers. "Raleigh's really cool. He's obviously flying right now – he's doing amazing. So it's good to see your peers doing great." 

More recently, Ajikawo worked with Damon Albarn's virtual band Gorillaz, blessing their song Garage Palace and joining them on tour. And, while describing Gorillaz as "a very big world to be in", Ajikawo commends Albarn for giving guest artists space. Albarn reassured her, "We want you as you," she recalls. "That was really, really helpful. It took the pressure off loads."

Ajikawo is re-establishing a presence in television. GREY Area's Boss was synced for HBO's acclaimed Insecure. But she's likewise auditioned for acting roles. Ajikawo will appear in the cult crime drama Top Boy, which – starring the credible Ashley Walters, onetime So Solid Crew MC, and Kane "Kano" Robinson – was saved by Drake and Netflix when it was canned by Channel 4 in 2014. "I guess my character's like the love interest of Ashley's character, [the hustler] Dushane," she teases. "So, yeah, a lot of my time on set was with Ashley."