Little Simz, Lotus: an existential crisis never sounded so gripping
There is nothing fragrant nor floral about Lotus, the sixth album from Britain's most gifted rapper, Little Simz. Veering wildly between defiance and introspection, the overriding mood is dark, and the tone is tough, with something bruised and battered at its core.
It opens with the hypnotically fierce blast of Thief, a propulsive post-punk take on a jazzy sixties spy theme, with Simz delivering a vicious character assassination in a machine-gun blast of snarling rhymes. It's a sensational, shiver-inducing intro, but its anger is fuelled by a sense of personal hurt that lingers throughout the album, and even Lotus's most joyously upbeat tracks (Flood, Young, Free and Lion) can't quite shake it.
A profound sense of existential crisis underpins Lotus, expressed most unequivocally amidst the jazzy piano spaces of Lonely, in which Simz confesses 'I don't even know who I'm meant to be anymore.' Distinctive British soul singer Sampha serenades her despondency in sweet, sad tones. His voice is also prominent on sombre end track, Blue, which finds Simz questioning how people cope with life's sense of perennial injustice, noting 'the truth is God still loves your enemies' amidst a cascade of rhymes including cemetery, identity and 'white supremacy.' It is simultaneously impressive and depressing.
At 31, Simbiatu Ajikawo should be on top of the world, yet we find her making the time-worn confession 'it's lonely at the top.' Lauded by critics and peers, she has imperious lyrical skills and an adventurous musical imagination. She has won Mercury and Brit Awards and shown herself to be a fine actor in Netflix UK crime drama Top Boy. This month, Simz will be the 30th curator of the Southbank Centre's prestigious Meltdown Festival.
It is odd then to note that she has never actually had a hit single, and only one of her albums has been top 5 in the UK (2021's masterful Sometimes I Might Be Introvert). She cancelled a US tour in 2022, sacked her long-serving manager (inspiring that year's darkly intense album No Thank You) and is currently suing her former producer, Dean 'Inflo' Cover, seeking £1.7 million in damages for unpaid loans (Cover's legal team have acknowledged the debt). It is honestly not hard to work out who is the intended subject of the most vitriolic put downs on Lotus, or why Simz might be experiencing a sense of crisis.
Jazz producer Miles Clinton James has taken over the role of chief collaborator, dialling up a jazziness that has long underpinned Simz' oeuvre, a development unlikely to correct her status as a no-hit wonder. Still, it sounds fantastic and an array of super talented voices (including Obongjayar, Michael Kiwanuka, Lydia Kitto, Miraa May and Moonchild Sanelly) all add distinctive flavours. Simz herself brings a greater range of tonal and emotional depths to her formerly sometimes robotic flow, which is a welcome development.
Lotus is an absorbing and powerfully honest album. But whilst the title flower symbolises rebirth and enlightenment in many cultures, here it seems more suggestive of something beautiful blooming in a very dark place indeed.
Best New Songs
By Poppie Platt
Addison Rae, New York
The TikTok influencer-turned-pop's hottest and most hyped new star finally releases her self-titled debut album today. Joining the deliciously addictive, Noughties-influenced likes of singles Diet Pepsi and Fame is a Gun comes this hazy club banger about the Louisiana girl's new life in the Big Apple.
ADMT, Come Along
Having got his start on YouTube, the Yorkshire singer sets himself firmly on the path to being Gen Z's answer to Ed Sheeran – think personal lyrics, spat out delivery and catchy acoustic hooks – on this track about loved ones who drifted away.
Madonna, Skin (The Collaboration Remix Edit)
The superstar's long-rumoured, equally long-awaited Ray of Light remix album Veronica Electronica is officially on its way (set your Spotify reminders for July 25 now). Get in the mood with this stomping electro remix of her 1998 classic.
Sabrina Carpenter, Manchild
Ahead of her headline slot at Primavera Sound in Barcelona tonight, the reigning queen of bubblegum pop returns with an infectious new single taking down a 'Manchild' ex who won't leave her alone or get a grip ('I like my men all incompetent'). Thinly veiled dig at ex Barry Keoghan, surely?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
Burton Latimer father starts community walking group for dads
A father has launched a fortnightly walking group to provide a support space for local Watts from Burton Latimer, near Kettering in Northamptonshire, created 'Dad's Doddle' after noticing how many social opportunities were available to new mums but not dads. The first walk took place earlier this month at Irchester Country Park, where 19 fathers attended with their children, some in buggies, others walking Watts, who has a 15-month old son, said: "Dads [can] feel a bit side-lined [and] we need to be noticed." Just three weeks after setting up 'Dads Doddle,' more than 500 people have signed up to the group second walk, held at Wicksteed Park in Kettering, saw almost 40 dads attend and future meetups are already being Watts described the group as a place where fathers can be open and feel supported."It's a judge-free zone. You can unwind as much as you want, and we're just there for each other," he 28-year-old father added the emotional response from other parents on social media has made the experience especially meaningful."Even to this day, reading [positive comments] makes me emotional."None of us knew each other before the group started and now we're getting on like we've known each other for years," he said. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
43 minutes ago
- BBC News
TOWIE'S Bobby Norris calls for more openness about surgery
A reality TV star says "transparency is key" when it comes to influencers being honest about cosmetic procedures they have Norris, who appeared in The Only Way is Essex from 2012 to 2021, said he had been offered a variety of cosmetic procedures over the years as a result of appearing on television."Be honest about it - don't say it's down to a moisturiser or a product, when really you've been under the knife," Norris the Liberal Democrat MP for Chelmsford, Marie Goldman, said she was concerned more transparency could lead to cosmetic procedures being "normalised". "With transparency comes normalisation," she said."If a lot of celebrities are saying I've had this procedure and it was fine, it becomes - to children - a very normal thing to do." Norris, who has been acting as a guest editor on the BBC Essex breakfast show with Sonia Watson, opened up about his relationship with cosmetic procedures."When I joined TOWIE fifteen years ago everyone was offering it, and because it was free and you see yourself in magazines you think I'll have a little bit of this, what's the worst that can happen?" he said."I had people asking me if I wanted a top up every two months."Norris quit the show in 2021 after being a regular cast member for more than a decade. He is now calling for more reality TV stars and influencers to "be honest" about their cosmetic surgery. He told BBC Essex: "There are girls out there who will go to a gym, do three squats and film it for social media. "They'll then jet off to Turkey and get a BBL (Brazilian Bum Lift) and they will make out that they got their bum organically from doing squats." Goldman said she believed it was "quite obvious" when people had cosmetic surgery - and the results looked "quite strange", adding: "It doesn't always look as good as they think it does"."People are getting injections in public toilets and what we're seeing is it's gone terribly wrong and they've got terrible infections from it. So we have to acknowledge there is a risk that goes with it," she it stands, a licence is not required to perform cosmetic procedures like botox injections and dermal fillers in England, but this could change if an amendment brought forward in 2022 is passed by government has previously suggested making changes to the Health and Care Act, which would bring in a scheme to protect consumers from unlicensed practitioners.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Cambridge dancer: 'Movement kept me going' through cancer
The organiser of a South Asian dance festival said she realised during her cancer treatment that dance was her "calling".Krishna Zivraj-Nair, 46, is the artistic director for Sanskruti, a dance school based in Cambridge, which is holding a festival on event aims to encourage people to try out different types of genres, including Bollywood, hip hop, Sri Lankan folk and Latin ballroom Zivraj-Nair, a trained research scientist, said she wanted to share her love of dance with others which she said was "keeping me fit and feeling good". She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer six years ago."I went through all my treatment, it was chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgeries."That was my calling when I realised that it was dance that kept me going".Ms Zivraj-Nair said the cancer returned last year but she remained determined to keep on dancing. "While undergoing treatment once again it's that movement … that brings me a lot of joy."I want to share that with anyone and everyone who would want to join me in that journey."The festival begins at 11:00 BST at Cambridge Junction, with dance workshops aimed at introducing people to dance and new styles they might not have tried will be careers sessions for people working in the arts sector and crafting for children run by the Cambridge artist Tonka Zivraj-Nair said the workshops were for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds."You can move in whichever way you want and that's good for you - that's good for your wellbeing, that's good for your health." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
