Little Simz - Sometimes I might be introvert

By Alexander Robertson-Rose

“Why the desperate need to be remembered?”

muses Little Simz, on the track ‘Standing Ovation’ from her new album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. Such a view is understandable, as throughout her career so far, Simz has often been overlooked and forgotten by many in the music industry. Despite boasting an impressive back catalogue, spearheaded by 2019’s Grey Area, which was adored by critics and shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, the London-based artist has struggled for wider recognition in the hip-hop community. Even with Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, she had the misfortune of releasing her album on the same day as Drake, and not long after Kanye West released Donda. Yet, for once, it may be Simz’s album that lives longest in the memory.

It certainly announces itself memorably enough. The first track, lead single ‘Introvert’, is a bombastic introduction to the main theme of the album, the duality between introversion and extroversion. “One day, I’m wordless, next day, I’m a wordsmith/ Close to success but to happiness I’m the furthest,” she raps amidst powerful horns, luscious strings and an urgent drumbeat. From there, the album transitions to ‘Woman,’ an effortlessly soulful ode to womanhood, with the hook provided by Cleo Sol, one of only two features on the album. Just as with Grey Area, Simz shows that she is quite capable of carrying an entire project on her own shoulders, and the album as a whole is better for its lack of featured rappers. After ‘Woman’, we hear some more soulful instrumentation, in the form of ‘Two Worlds Apart,’ which makes creative use of a Smokey Robinson sample.  

However it is the next track that is the lyrical highpoint of Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. While ‘Woman’ is dedicated to Simz’s mother, ‘I Love You, I Hate You’ is directed at her estranged father. While this track does not strictly deal with her introversion per se, there is still duality and conflict in her relationship with, and perception of, her parent. Hard-hitting bars abound, with Simz sharing a tragically scathing assessment of her absent father with rhymes like “Never thought my parent would give me my first heartbreak.” Yet she also shows her compassion, admitting she previously would not have had the maturity to remember that “He was once just a boy, often I seem to forget.” The horns and string section behind her feel straight out of a Bond film, bringing a sense of dramatic occasion to her devastating introspection. This true masterpiece is the most accomplished track on the album, however there is still plenty of quality to come.  

On ‘Little Q, Pt. 2,’ Simz showcases her storytelling abilities, rapping from the perspective of her cousin who was stabbed. “Not the mental scars, the physical’s all you see/ But the boy that stabbed me is just as damaged as me,” she elucidates, painting a vivid picture of young people let down by father figures and starved of opportunity. The children singing in the background sound like a choir of angels, giving extra power to lines like “When you’re so close to the Heavens, God shows you who’s there/ Nowhere to be seen are the people who said they care,” which drive the track to an emotional conclusion.  

One notable feature of the album is the series of interludes, which feature frequent voiceovers from the Crown’s Emma Corrin, offering somewhat clichéd, fairy-godmother-like titbits of advice. In truth, these moments feel a little out of keeping with the tone of much of the album; however any concerns are balanced out by the sumptuous orchestration (especially in the interludes, ‘Gems’ and ‘The Rapper That Came To Tea’), which would not seem out of place in an Alice in Wonderland soundtrack. Indeed, this album feels in some ways like a continuation to her 2016 project Stillness In Wonderland, an Alice In Wonderland-themed concept album. This latest effort, though, feels at once more all-encompassing and more focused, with Simz again venturing down the rabbit hole instrumentally, yet sharing a clearly-defined and introspective self-portrait.     

At 19 tracks long and lasting over an hour, it is some achievement that the album never fails to capture the attention of the listener. In part, this is due to the sheer variety of sounds that are found on the record. For example, towards the end of the album, we hear the braggadocious, hard-hitting and stripped back ‘Rollin Stone,’ which, without skipping a beat, transitions into the catchy synth-pop of ‘Protect My Energy,’ arguably the most fun song of the 19 here. Taken in isolation, these two songs do not even sound like they are by the same artist, yet in the context of the album they somehow make sense, perfectly illustrating the differences between “Simz the artist and Simbi the person.”  

Despite the spellbinding lyricism that Simz demonstrates throughout, she is more than matched by the quality of the production and orchestration. As with Grey Area, every track on the album is produced by long-time collaborator Inflo, who never puts a foot wrong, making sure that every track passes scrutiny, even without considering the lyrical content. There is a richness to every instrumental, helped especially by the live orchestral backing on many songs, which is a refreshing contrast from the formulaic, sample-heavy beats that are so common in modern hip-hop.

On ‘How Did You Get Here,’ Simz charts her career progression over yet more laid-back soulful instrumentation, on what would be a perfect, positive album closer. Yet the final track, ‘Miss Understood,’ ends things instead with a message of self-doubt and inner turmoil which shows us that Simz’s perception of herself is, above all, complicated. “I write words for a living and still can’t communicate,” she tells us, as she talks about her difficult relationship with her older sister, her introversion coming to the fore one last time.   

Introvert she may be, but lacking in confidence she is not. At every turn, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert shimmers with the glow of an artist who is totally self-assured and able to realise her vision. While not every track completely lands (‘Rollin Stone’ and ‘I See You’ perhaps do not quite capture the imagination), the project is remarkably consistent considering its scope. On a week when the world was transfixed by the abrasive creativity of Kanye and the relentless hit-making of Drake, a quiet, unassuming girl from north London may just have outshone them both.