Hard work and creative friends from local youth club drove genre-defying rapper to mainstream recognition
When Little Simz invited her mum on stage to help collect her Brit award for best new artist this week, it quickly became the evening’s standout moment. “Look at what you’ve done, Mum!” she told her, kicking off a powerful acceptance speech that turned her journey from council estate to awards ceremony podium into an inspirational allegory. The 27-year-old said she was “living proof that if you work hard at something, no matter where you come from, your background, your race, you can be something extraordinary”.
Yet fans of the rapper were confused by the prize for “new artist”. Having released her debut mixtape in 2010, Simz now has four critically lauded albums under her belt, including last year’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, a thought-provoking and utterly unique record that earned many five-star reviews and was widely considered a new high-water mark for British rap. It reached No 4 in the UK albums chart, the accomplishment that earned her Brit nomination – artists must have had a top 40 album or two top 20 singles to qualify. Before that, she had been endorsed by huge stars including Kendrick Lamar and Stormzy. In other words, the north Londoner, born Simbiatu Ajikawo, is far from a fledgling talent.
