In Review: Little Simz - Drop 6

Just over a year has passed since Little Simz released Grey Area; a critically acclaimed masterpiece full of heartfelt poetry, feelgood instrumentals, and poignant rumination. The success of the album marked a new era in her blossoming career and will be a major reason why she said on her Instagram recently that “2019 was probably the best year of my life. I was doing what I loved and I was on a high.”

While society has, to put it lightly, gone through some changes since then, Simz’ natural ability has not. Her new EP Drop 6 contains a lot of the deft lyricism and unique flow we heard on Grey Area, despite it coming from a different place in her life. Many of the songs on Grey Area are derived from raw emotion and exposed fragilities, but Drop 6 is a product of its environment. A spontaneous collection of musings born out of imagination, perseverance, and an appreciation for going back to basics when everything else has stopped.

Even the best virtuosos can hit creative blocks though, especially when sources of inspiration used in the past might not be accessible. Simz confessed to nearly giving up on this EP a few times since its conception in early April, and the opening track ‘might bang, might not’ refers to her degree of scepticism on whether the song will pop off in the real world as much as it did during production at her home. She needn’t have worried. High tempo baselines and wailing sirens accompany her impeccable flow to deliver one of the stand-out tracks on the EP.

“I got one life and I might just live it” is declared on ‘one life, might live’, and is an example of the might-as-well-do-it nature of the project, whilst also tipping the hat to what an amazing year last year was for the Londoner. Another solid track on the EP is ‘where’s my lighter’ featuring atmospheric vocals from Alewya. Simz heaps praise on the singer and claimed that “she even free-styled the hook, it was just one take.” 

Drop 6 is proof that Little Simz has the ability to banish self-doubt and do what she loves in an isolated environment prone to stifling creativity. It’s proof, if any of us needed it, that she is here to stay on the scene of naturally gifted UK rappers doing bits for the culture. Even though it won’t sit alongside Grey Area as a career-defining piece of work, the circumstances under which Drop 6 was made are a testament to how Little Simz makes difficult things look and sound simple - a hallmark of a great rapper.

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