Sometimes, greatness needn’t be defined by metrics you have no control over. It’s also about succumbing to the belief that who you are today is as permanent as a handprint on a cold window. The life of an artist can be like this – a cycle of rebirth, a snake eating itself. Little Simz has no idea who she’ll be tomorrow, next month or ten years from now. What’s assured is her exploration of self through art, and this, probably the most beautiful element of being an artist, is emblematic of the ouroboros.
“I guess more people know who I am now,” says Simz with a wry laugh, commenting on life since the release of Grey Area in 2019. “Not much has changed really; I’m still doing what I’ve always done. Making my art and putting it out into the world and hoping it resonates with people.”
The first time we spoke, just before the release of that record, Simz described being content with where she was in her career. The frustration that came with not being where she felt she should have been was a feeling she was no longer concerned with. Back then, she’d yet to win a Brit award and the Mercury prize, publish a book or advance her acting career with a role in the third series of Netflix gangland drama . Four years on, you can hear the resolve and quiet confidence in her voice;
