"This surprise 10-track collection is a clear-headed riposte to the fame game and the industry hangers-on trying to take a slice" - NME reviews the new Little Simz album 'No Thank You', adding that this "quiet, understated release" has a "certain looseness and freedom to the tracks, and... a clear-headed Simz has something to say urgently". Alexis Petridis points out the sonic element - "There’s no doubt that No Thank You’s impact is vastly potentiated by the work of producer Inflo... whose approach to his project Sault – no promotion, no live performances, no interviews, music apparently released as and when he feels like it, even if that means putting out five albums on the same day – seems to reflect the manifesto outlined on 'Angel': 'Fuck rules and everything that’s traditional.'”

Little Simz and Knucks were crowned joint winners for the album of the year prize at the Mobo Awards, for their albums 'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert' and 'Alpha Place', respectively. PinkPantheress won best female act, while Central Cee won the award for best male act, as well as video of the year for his song 'Doja', Music News reports. Nigerian afrobeats superstar Burna Boy took home trophies for best international act and best African music act. Mobos seek to honour achievements in music of black origin.

28-year-old rapper Little Simz has won the 2022 Mercury prize for her fourth album 'Sometime I Might be Introvert' last night, NME reports. “The album that we have chosen deals with themes both personal and political; the music is as sophisticated as it is varied. This is a truly exceptional album,” said DJ Jamz Supernova. Little Simz congratulated her fellow nominees: “All of you guys are incredible, we all made incredible albums, we all change people’s lives with our music and that’s the most important thing, so this is for us really, you know what I’m saying?”. The award, given to the best British or Irish album of the year, comes with a cash prize of £25,000. Simz is a DIY artist, self-releasing each of her albums on her own label, Age 101.

Women and first-time nominees dominate the 30th anniversary of the Mercury Prize, which celebrates the best British and Irish albums of the year. 11 of the 12 shortlisted albums are from the first-timers like Kojey Radical and Yard Act. Little Simz is the only artist here with Mercury history: her third album, 'Grey Area', was nominated in 2019, with her second nod coming for its follow-up, 'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert'. Simz also leads a pack dominated by women, with seven of the 12 albums by female solo artists or mixed groups, like Wet Leg, Jessie Buckley, and Joy Crookes. Guardian delivers a good insight.

'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert' by Little Simz has been named the best record of 2021 in BBC's summarized list. The album topped a BBC News "poll of polls" that combined the results of 30 critics' end-of-year lists. BBC points out that this "journey through her family background and artistic struggles" has been "praised for its 'razor-sharp lyricism' and 'extravagant, orchestral' songs". The best songs list is topped by 'Good 4U' by Olivia Rodrigo.

"I don’t take myself too seriously, these days, I’m just trying to have a good time because if these past twenty-four months have taught me anything, it’s how short life is” - Little Simz tells in in The Line Of Best Fit interview about her future plans. She also reflects on her latest album 'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert', Best Fit's album of the year: “Introversion is my superpower, it’s something that protects me and shields me. I am this way inclined but in the same breath, I’m not unconfident in myself – I’m very confident. I just know that I haven’t got to necessarily be the loudest person in the room”.

Dave took home best album awards for his second record, 'We're All Alone In This Together' at this year's Mobo Awards, NME reports. Rapper Little Simz won best female, in recognition of her triumphant third album, 'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert'. Ghetts took home best male Mobo. Central Cee was named best newcomer, while Nigeria's Wizkid was named best international act.

“I’m naturally quite an introverted person, and I think it’s hard to read an introvert because you just don’t know what they’re thinking or feeling. But this was an opportunity for me to let people in” - Little Simz says in a new Rolling Stone interview about her new album. She adds - “As challenging as it was at points, just putting pressure on myself and wanting to better my writing… I think you hear it in the music. Although we’re touching on deep stuff and I’m tackling a lot, there’s a lightheartedness to it”.

"It’s Simz’s most personal album yet but also her most removed, in the sense that it’s cinematic and surreal and overwhelming... 'Introvert' is heady and dense and restless — a masterwork" - Stereogum gives a verdict to London rapper's new releases (it's also Stereogum's Album of the Week). Guardian likes the leftfieldness of it - "Voraciously creative, clever and cool...  It is notably non-synthetic and twitchily alive, with Simz’s vocal presence so intense and distinctive it is able to withstand all manner of genre-fickleness". Gigwise insists Simz is at the "highest echelons of British rap".

“I can only imagine it’s like having a nine-month pregnancy, and you know this baby has to come out of your vagina. But you know you’re ready to be a mum” - Little Simz says in Vice interview about waiting on her new album  'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert' to come out. While creating it, she listened to the "classics" like Michael Jackson, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Biggie Smalls: “I was studying why people connected with these artists – why is their music so timeless? I want to make a staple album. I want you listening in ten years and you’re like, ‘Rah, remember when that came out and what that done?’”.

Little Simz shares just some James Bond hip-hop with ‘I Love You, I Hate You’; UK jazz tuba player Theon Cross (member of Sons of Kemet) releases 'We Go Again', played almost exclusively on tuba; Moor Mother shares a bit of psychedelic rap with ‘Obsidian', featuring Pink Siifu; Black Dice offer some groovy chaos on ‘White Sugar’; Siiickbrain combines emo, rap, and industrial on ‘Silence’.

The London rapper starts her new song as a furious rap, only to turn to psychedelia at the second half. Little Simz is releasing a new album, called 'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert', via her own Age 101 label this September.

Little Simz announces her new album 'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert' with a great single 'Introvert', a symphonic hip-hop banger with a pounding drumline. The lyrics are top-notch too, with the finishing line accentuating the message - "I’m a black woman and I’m proud one / We walk in blind faith not knowing the outcome / But as long as we unified then we’ve already won".

Little Simz, Dave and Jamie Cullum were major winners at 2020’s Ivor Novello awards, which honour the best in British songwriting, uDiscover Music reports. London rapper Little Simz was awarded Album of the year for 'Grey Area'. Dave was awarded best contemporary song for 'Black', his track that charts the struggles of black people from slavery to today’s racial inequality and stereotyping. Jamie Cullum was awarded in the “best song musically and lyrically” category, for his power ballad 'The Age of Anxiety'.

Stormzy, Dave, Nick Cave, Kate Tempest and Little Simz are nominated for this year's Ivor Novellos, the most prestigious songwriting awards in the UK and Ireland, Music Week reports. Four authors are nominated twice: Kate Tempest and producer Dan Carey are up for Best Album for the former’s ‘The Book Of Traps And Lessons‘ as well as Best Contemporary Song for ‘Firesmoke’; Jimmy Napes is nominated for his songwriting contributions to both Stormzy’s ‘Crown’ and Sam Smith‘s ‘Dancing With A Stranger’; Jamie Hartman is nominated for his work on Lewis Capaldi‘s ‘Hold Me While You Wait’ and Calvin Harris‘ Rag’n’Bone Man collaboration ‘Giant’; Stormzy and MJ Cole are also nominated for their songwriting on ‘Crown’. In the most prestigious category, for the best album, the nominated are ‘Ghosteen’ by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, ‘Grey Area’ by Little Simz, and ‘The Book of Traps and Lessons’ by Kate Tempest. See all the nominees here.

Little Simz won the NME award for the best British album for her 'GREY Area', with Lana Del Rey winning the best album in the world award for her 'Norman Fucking Rockwell'. Best song in the world award went to Billie Eilish for her ‘Bad Guy’, Robyn was named songwriter of the decade, FKA twigs got the best British solo act award, Clairo is the best new act in the world, Emily Eavis got the godlike genius award, and the Foals were named best live act. All the nominees and the winners at the NME. Photos from the awards - here.

Quite a good selection of rap and R&B (actually, mostly rap) albums of 2019 by the Brooklyn Vegan. An inclusive list covers majority of the most important moments in this year's rap/R&B - they've got Skepta's 'Ignorance Is Bliss', Pivot Gang's 'You Can’t Sit With Us', Stormzy's 'Heavy Is The Head', Danny Brown's 'uknowhatimsayin?', Solange's […]

London rapper Dave has won the 2019 Mercury Prize with his debut album 'Psychodrama', a critically acclaimed concept album about mental health, relationships and social conditions. This year the Mercury shortlist was just great: 1975‘s 'A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships', slowthai‘s 'Nothing Great About Britain', black midi‘s 'Schlagenheim', Little Simz‘s 'GREY area', Foals‘ 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1', Nao‘s 'Saturn', IDLES‘ 'Joy as […]

"The rap, grime and future R&B (Nao, slowthai, Little Simz, Dave) represented the most incisive rising British talent, the guitar rock (Idles, Fontaines D.C., Black Midi) was suitably disjointed, angular and innovative, the poised and/or melodramatic art-pop (Anna Calvi, Cate le Bon) bore not the faintest trace of Paloma or Florence, the bigger names (The […]

The Quietus picked out six albums from the month of march, including one of their favourite bands, These New Puritans' 'Inside the Rose', British art-rockers' first since 2013. Leyland James Kirby is also one one of their favourites, he published the album 'Everywhere at the end of time – Stage 6' with his band The […]

'Grey Matter', third album by British rapper Little Simz is highest-rated album by a female artist this year, according to aggregation site Metacritic (only 'Psychodrama', the debut album by fellow London rapper Dave, has a higher score). BBC talked to her about how that new album came to be and where does she see Jay-Z […]

Each week NME picks out stand-out songs from various genres, and this week their menu for hungry ears offers the following: indie-pop band Pronoun, rapper Little Simz, r'n'b singer Poppy Ajudha, noise-poppers The Ninth Wave, rapper Tierra Whack, indie rockers Amyl and the Sniffers, soul singer Asiatica, pop-rockers Body Type, tropical electronics artist Durante, and […]