Little Simz – ‘Lotus’ album review: All eras happening at once
For anybody still under the illusion that Little Simz isn’t the best rapper the UK has ever produced, her newest album, Lotus, may be your turning point.
The Skinny: One of the most impressive things about Little Simz has been how well she has constantly evolved throughout every album. When you compare GREY Area to No Thank You to Drop 6, there is no escaping the huge range that the rapper has always embraced and persistently excelled in pushing. Now, with Lotus, it feels slightly as though Simz has put together a combination of all of these styles.
There was no doubt a fair bit of pressure resting on Simbi’s shoulders going into this record. Her 2021 album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, had been incredibly successful, appealing to listeners around the world and bagging the rapper a Mercury Award. Granted, she has released albums since, but none of them have had as much hype built around them. No Thank You was a surprise release in 2022, while Drop 7 was more of an EP that allowed Simz to embrace a house-infused sound.
Lotus was the first album since her record Sometimes I Might Be Introvert that had some kind of hype surrounding it. She had released very different singles, and people were lying in wait for the whole LP. Once let loose into the world, one thing had become evident and one thing only: Simz had done it again.
It doesn’t matter what style of Little Simz music you have liked previously; there is an element of it on this record. Songs like ‘Lion’ are injected with the swag that we have heard previously on the likes of ‘Point and Kill’. Meanwhile, there are beat-heavy songs such as ‘Flood’, and some more emotional numbers like ‘Blood’.
Not only does Simz embrace this variety of styles, but she also shows how she’s only getting better at writing music, as her new iterations on this album are even better than those which have come before. She’s a rapper who refuses to let up and keeps ensuring that her name is held aloft in the conversations of the best in the world.
The Verdict: While Lotus may well have been one of Little Simz’s most hotly anticipated albums, the rapper showed that she doesn’t feel pressure, and in doing so delivers one of her best records to date. Each track embraces a previous era of Simz but shows it in a more mature and perfected light than those previous.
Defining track: ‘Lion’
Release: June 6th, 2025 | Label: AWAL | Producer: Miles Clinton James
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