LITTLE SIMZ: ‘DROP 6’ EP REVIEW
Little Simz, who describes her music as experimental rap, blew up in 2019 after her third album ‘GREY Area’ gained huge recognition across the industry and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. ‘Drop 6’ is Little Simz’s sixth instalment of her ‘Drop’ series of EPs, but is the first she’s put out since releasing her full debut album ‘A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons’ in 2015. Her latest offering appears to reflect the space in which many of us find ourselves during lockdown; an opportunity to take stock of where we’re at in life, a re-kindling of old interests and ideas, as well as a time to experiment with new ones.
Image Credit: Jack Bridgland
It seems Little Simz has used the EP to trial something less commercial and more stripped-back and mellow than her most recent album,‘GREY Area’. These tracks aren’t going to become the instant earworms that ‘Offence’ and ‘101 FM’ are, but they do offer a unique journal-esque insight into the relatable and unsettled headspace of an artist in her twenties during this extraordinary time. Perhaps it’s a reminder that we’ve all got a lot more in common with our musical idols than we might have thought?
Little Simz announced the upcoming release of this new EP over an Instagram post, just a month into lockdown. The post was accompanied with a heartfelt message expressing a raw outpouring of her confused feelings over the previous weeks: “I think about how this time in isolation has impacted my mental health and has brought to light how much I suppress things that I feel super-intensely.” The EP’s attempt to capture this moment in time is reflected in the repeated line, “this is for the now” in the soft, bassy track, ‘might bang, might not’. The track is by far the most played on the album, and it’s not hard to see why - it’s a total tune, and probably the only one on the EP that will stand the test of time.
10.6k Likes, 361 Comments - simz (@littlesimz) on Instagram: "clearer read in highlights"
In the second track ‘one life, might live’, lyrics like “know your limit, know your worth, know personal space,” and “no one love you like I love you baby, note to self,” feels like Little Simz’s love letter to herself; a poignant reminder to believe in herself at a time when it’s all too easy to get wrapped up in your own thoughts and end up questioning everything. In ‘damn right’ the music is more melancholy and reflective: Little Simz talks about her childhood, and inner conflict with religion and spirituality. The contrast is stark between this and the next track, ‘you should call my mum’, which is a pure, fast-paced monologue reflecting on lockdown life, set to the backdrop of a warbling synth: “‘Livin' day by day / sleepless night by night / bored out of my mind / how many naps can I take?”. The MC that we know and love is most distinguishable in this track; she is cocky, challenging, philosophical, yet still managing to be raw and accessible.
The ethereal final track ‘where’s my lighter’ sounds like it’s happening on two different parallel planes - guest vocals by Alewya make the music feel full and layered and the fading, genuine laughter at the end is a nice human touch. Little Simz uses this one to offer a promise of what’s to come next: “I'm here nurturin' my talent / I'm focusin' on my next masterpiece.”
As a whole, ‘Drop 6’ feels a little disjointed; it doesn’t sound like one flowing piece, but instead as a series of lyrical sketches. This however does make it a fitting encapsulation of the strange time we find ourselves in, and a cathartic listen right now. It captures the confused, reflective and day-by-day nature of life during lockdown, and certainly reminds us that we are not alone in our struggles.
Listen to ‘Drop 6’ below: