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Little Simz is a cut above the rest. She raps as though each syllable matters, serious and intent, never going into cruise control. The idea that fluency is linked to glibness does not apply to her flow of words. That might make her rather exacting company for an audience, except that she also wants those watching her to have a good time. As she so often does, she pulled off this tricky tonal balance at the Royal Festival Hall — but in a different context than usual.
Her gig closed the Southbank Centre’s annual Meltdown festival. Simz, aka Simbiatu Ajikawo, was this year’s guest curator. Her programme, which included shows by Lola Young and James Blake, was topped and tailed by firsts for herself. On the opening night, she performed her debut DJ set. For the finale, she played her first concert with a full orchestral accompaniment.
The 42 members of the Chineke! orchestra were conducted by Chris Cameron. Simz and her four-piece band were lined in front of them. Mimicking the black-and-white artwork of her new album Lotus, she wore a long pair of black shorts, a black denim jacket and a white vest with the word “hardcore” written on it. Bar the red bow ties worn by several orchestral players and the conductor’s white shirt, everyone else wore black. Their skin tones were less monochrome: the Chineke! orchestra, resident at the Southbank Centre, is the most ethnically diverse professional orchestra in the UK.
All its players were required for the dramatic fanfare of opening track “Introvert”, whose full-bore orchestrations treated the titular quality of inwardness as a superpower. An impressive sound mix gave prominence to Simz’s vocals and her band, but the orchestra was not an adornment. In contrast to the “let’s have some strings with this” approach of pop cliché, orchestral arrangements were crucial to the music. “Venom” used tense horror-film strings for rap battle verses, while “I Love You, I Hate You” had a grandly cinematic sound.
The newly released Lotus has emerged from a difficult time during which Simz’s association with long term collaborator (and childhood friend) Dean “Inflo” Cover has acrimoniously ended. “Thief” was the first track from the album to be played, a hard-boiled account of betrayal. Others featured guests such as Miraa May, also a childhood friend, who sang the refrain from “Peace” with beautiful tenderness, and London-based Nigerian singer Obongjayar, upping the energy levels on the Afrobeat-influenced “Lion”.
Simz introduced “Lonely”, with its revelations of lost confidence and thoughts of quitting, as difficult for her to do. Stuttering drums, played by Morgan Simpson, formerly of Black Midi, gave musical expression to her lyrics, while string parts brought a soothing resonance.
Despite the sombre themes, Simz performed as though a weight had been lifted. She did a walkabout in the venue during “Heart on Fire”, fist-bumping and beaming for photos. “Venom” opened with her having a go at conducting the orchestra while rapping. She conducted her audience with greater expertise, getting people out of their seats and singing along. Musical technique and purposeful messaging were matched by entertaining stagecraft. This was live hip-hop scored for multiple musicians, led by a rapper who ranks as one of the finest.
★★★★★
littlesimz.com
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