When I first met and saw Little Simz perform at SXSW in 2014, I was blown away by not only her musical and lyrical content, but also the calm confidence, maturity and determination she exuded when she was just 20 years old. Since then, the British rapper born Simbi Ajikawo has only continued to grow and mature. With focus and hard work, she’s released a barrage of projects (two albums, four mixtapes and a handful of EPs), toured around the world, and established a name for herself far beyond London.
Little Simz’s latest album Stillness in Wonderland dropped in December, a sequel to her 2015 debut A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons. In tribute to Alice in Wonderland, Little Simz takes us through her journey of self-discovery and growth — her stories of navigating intuition and trust in new worlds. As much as it retells a personal journey for Simz, it also provides room for the listener to pause and reflect on their own path and where they’re headed.
Simz just turned 23 in February. In the first few months of 2017, she has already kicked off a headlining tour, organized her own Welcome to Wonderland: The Experience festival as part of London’s Roundhouse Rising Festival, been featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, opened for Lauryn Hill in New York City and Boston, and had a whirlwind SXSW. She’s now wrapping up a few more Welcome to Wonderland stops in France before she hops on the road again to join Ab-Soul on tour in the United States and make her debut in Japan in May. It’s safe to say her early confidence was well founded and Little Simz may not be so little for long.
MASS APPEAL caught up with Simz before her sold out show at The Echo in Los Angeles last Monday to reflect on her years of creating and how she takes care of herself to keep progressing as an independent artist.
You’ve been making music since you were nine and got more serious when you were 14. You’re 23 now. What values have you upheld consistently throughout this time to not give up?
What’s helped me not give up? I think more than anything just understanding that I believe I have a purpose. [Music] is the only thing I’ve really loved and the only thing I consider myself to be half decent at. And I’ve been doing it nearly my whole life, so it feels unnatural to want to do or be anything else. I don’t feel like there’s anything else in my calling at this moment in time. I feel like in the future, not even the future, but right now, I am capable of doing a lot of things, but music’s always going to be my first love.
What transitions and growth took place in your life between your two albums?
Turning another age is a big part of it. I feel like I’ve grown a lot from my first album sonically, lyrically, as a person. Everything is one up. On Stillness in Wonderland, I had a chance to challenge myself and test myself and push myself. I’ve done some of the production on this record, whereas on the first record, I didn’t so much. I also had a lot more collaborations on this project. My first record I didn’t have any, really. I only had one, The Hics, but this time I had a chance to be a bit more experimental and push the boundaries in terms of the rollout with the film, the comic, the website and the merch. It wasn’t just about the music, per se. I took more time making this record. I was on the road while I was making it, so it was natural. It wasn’t something I was trying to rush, but there was a time where it became a matter of urgency because I really wanted to get it finished and it was dope to do that.
In the song “One in Rotation + Wide Awake,” you talk about navigating through the challenges of different egos and situations, particularly in the music industry. How has creating this album fit in with the part of your career you’re in now?
I’m just trying to stay afloat and keep my head above water. Like I said in my song, “Been disheartened, still my heart stay sincere.” I’ve been through a lot just trying to get to where I’m at. With a lot of what I’ve been through, I think it could have easily broken someone, could have easily made someone want to give up or quit, just doubt themselves. But it’s had the opposite effect on me for whatever reason. It’s made me more hungry and given me more fire in my belly to continue. It’s just honest music. It comes from my heart. My music always comes from a personal place. Everything I talk about I’ve lived or experienced, and I don’t know how to do anything else but that.
Anxiety and depression don’t get discussed often enough in music. What kind of message do you want to share in regards to these topics with your music and as an individual?
I do think there needs to be more conversations had about anxiety and depression because they’re real things. We need to shed more light on it. Artists deal with that on a daily basis. Everyone deals with it. I think it’s time that we have responsibility, “we” as in us artists, to make the point to have more conversations about these things and let people know that we are aware and not blind to it. It’s real life. I’m personally not a person that openly would come out and open up about what I’m going through in my life because I’m quite introverted and it’s uncomfortable, but I find comfort and happiness in expressing it through my music. It’s the easiest way for me to do it. It’s the most comfortable way for me to do it. I’ve been doing it for the longest time, so it’s second nature to me.
One of my favorite lines on your new album comes from “Doorways + Trust Issues,” which goes, “Everybody’s got some sort of faith inside them/ Gotta find where it lives.” What does this mean to you in terms of self-discovery and self-love?
It’s about looking inside. It’s so easy to have out-of-body experiences in terms of looking out and looking at this person or that person. It’s rare that we ever take time to look at ourselves. Not to get deep or weird, but what do you actually see? I think it’s about looking beyond the surface. No one was born with hate inside of them. I believe everyone is born with a capability to love and be free. I just think us as human beings, we have to look at ourselves a lot more. Sometimes a lot of things we search for are within us. I just want to continue to spread that message.
How do you keep your faith as an independent artist?
I keep my faith by blocking out the noise or trying to block out noise and being open to receiving all the blessings that come my way and using that as a driving force to take me further. I keep my faith by praying. I keep my faith by being grateful and saying thank you to everyone and everything and showing gratitude. I’m aware that this all just didn’t fall into my lap. I worked for it, but I’ve been blessed enough to receive it all. It’s only going to continue to grow and continue to get better.
How does being independent contribute to your confidence and self-esteem?
Being independent is great. There are pros and cons with everything, but it contributes to my self-esteem because I understand I’m my own boss, pretty much. I don’t answer to anyone, so I have to boss up. I have to level up and that makes me feel grown. That makes me feel like a business owner. It makes me feel empowered. It makes me feel like I can accomplish a lot more. I wish it was something I was taught in school, but thankfully through life’s lessons, I’ve managed to learn through experience, so it’s dope.
How do you decompress in times of stress?
I just go to the studio all life. If I’m stressed, I write about it, I talk about it, I call a friend. I just don’t harbor it. Probably the worst thing anyone can do is suffer in silence. I know because I used to do that and sometimes I still do it, and it’s not a healthy thing. Just don’t do it. I don’t take the people around me for granted. If I didn’t have them, I don’t know what I’d do or who I’d talk to, so it’s a blessing.
When you’re not creating music, what are you doing in your spare time?
In my spare time, I’m touring. That’s what I do in my spare time, I tour the world. But nah, I like to strum my guitar. I like to cook a lot. I like doing activities. If you got a fun activity you like, I’m all for it. I just want to live. My music is personal. I talk about things I actually live. I never want to come across like I’m repetitive or I’m saying the same things over and over, so the best way for me to get new content and new things to talk about is to live.
What would you tell your younger self?
Take your time. Nah, in fact, I would tell my younger self that you’re doing a great job. You’re on the right path, mate, just keep at it. That’s what I’d tell my younger self. I would also tell my younger self to not be so hard. Don’t be so hard on yourself, you know? Like you’re a star. That’s what I sing in “Wide Awake”:
Don’t be so hard on your
Self, you a star in this
We play a part in this
Look where we are in this
Came from the soil and grew
Up to be loyal, count my
Blessings, what’s worth more here?
Money or oil?
This is that DMT
This is that DMT
This is that DMT. This is going to take you somewhere you can’t even fathom. Your mind won’t even be able to handle it, but you will be able to handle it because you’re Simbi. You understand the universe isn’t going to give you anything that you can’t handle. I would tell myself to just be easy and everything will be all right.
Originally published at massappeal.com on March 28, 2017.
