Born and raised in North London, at just 20 years of age Little Simz is bringing a new level of intelligence, creativity and musicality to the global Hip Hop arena.
Things started early for her with music, really early. She recalls the beginning of her journey so far being at around the age of 9, before seriously engaging with song-writing and production in her mid-teens. Now, alongside University work, a bedroom studio setup is the home to new musical ideas, of which there are plenty (three songs a week according to a recent interview with Gilles Peterson for 6 Music). Her influences aren鈥檛 directly from British MCs as you might imagine, creative inspirations come from musical figures who have opened doors with music, such as Jimi Hendrix and Jay-Z. When it comes to making her tracks, producers often reach Simz via her social media channels, where she鈥檚 always on the lookout for 鈥渨eird鈥� sounding tracks that other musicians won鈥檛 use.
Despite a growing line of high-profile stars queuing up to collaborate with her, the bedroom studio was used to capture her debut EP 鈥楨.D.G.E鈥� and she released it on her own label AGE 101 in the summer of 2014. The EP featured her Space Age collective, a young clan of North London creatives who Simz grew up with. Next up came a series of mini-EPs, which generated so much attention Simz can now count Andre 3000, Snoop Dogg, J.Cole, Kendrick Lama and Kano as fans. At Radio 1, Huw Stephens, Zane Lowe and Annie Mac are all on board with support so far. Incredible early critical acclaim has come in the form of two MOBO nominations (Best Hip Hop Act and Best Newcomer) and the 'Breakthrough Act Of The Year' gong at the 10th Annual Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards.
All eyes are on this young leader鈥檚 next steps. Her set at our South By' showcase will no doubt be something special, continuing her meteoric rise.
Born and raised in North London, at just 20 years of age Little Simz is bringing a new level of intelligence, creativity and musicality to the global Hip Hop arena.
Things started early for her with music, really early. She recalls the beginning of her journey so far being at around the age of 9, before seriously engaging with song-writing and production in her mid-teens. Now, alongside University work, a bedroom studio setup is the home to new musical ideas, of which there are plenty (three songs a week according to a recent interview with Gilles Peterson for 6 Music). Her influences aren鈥檛 directly from British MCs as you might imagine, creative inspirations come from musical figures who have opened doors with music, such as Jimi Hendrix and Jay-Z. When it comes to making her tracks, producers often reach Simz via her social media channels, where she鈥檚 always on the lookout for 鈥渨eird鈥� sounding tracks that other musicians won鈥檛 use.
Despite a growing line of high-profile stars queuing up to collaborate with her, the bedroom studio was used to capture her debut EP 鈥楨.D.G.E鈥� and she released it on her own label AGE 101 in the summer of 2014. The EP featured her Space Age collective, a young clan of North London creatives who Simz grew up with. Next up came a series of mini-EPs, which generated so much attention Simz can now count Andre 3000, Snoop Dogg, J.Cole, Kendrick Lama and Kano as fans. At Radio 1, Huw Stephens, Zane Lowe and Annie Mac are all on board with support so far. Incredible early critical acclaim has come in the form of two MOBO nominations (Best Hip Hop Act and Best Newcomer) and the 'Breakthrough Act Of The Year' gong at the 10th Annual Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards.
All eyes are on this young leader鈥檚 next steps. Her set at our South By' showcase will no doubt be something special, continuing her meteoric rise.
