For 28-year-old rapper Little Simz, the release of the fifth studio album has been met with fans calling it one of the “best 3 album run in years”. And sure, with Best New Artist at the Brits, Best Album of the Year at the MOBOs and a Mercury Prize for her last album amongst recent accolades, it’s fair to say that she’s had quite the year in music already.
On Twitter, one music blogger decodes the album title, stating “While saying ‘no’ can be empowering and liberating but it’s not an easy road, it’s uncomfortable coz u are setting boundaries. She’s at a stage where she doesn’t need to explain herself [sic].” Upon a first listen, this sentiment is already completely reinforced throughout, and the idea of apologising is replaced with appreciative boundary-setting. It refreshingly rewrites anger, so often seen and caricatured in rap, for the modern generation, and in a way in which self-protection feels virtuous.
There has been no time to stop and celebrate as the Inflo-produced music comes before the year is up, and has skipped the traditional Friday drop in favour of a Monday listen. But with the ink barely settling on her previous achievements, worries had previously gathered as to whether Simz had returned too fast.
It’s safe to say all qualms disintegrated as the depth of her therapeutic lyricism prove that no matter how fast she is working, the results are consistently astounding. This leap of faith in NO THANK YOU shows that Simz favours her art more than anything, and we can do nothing but commend her dedication and passion. Many online are already hailing their superlatives for the rapper, claiming her to be the best in the UK scene. “We gotta start the conversation about Little Simz being the best UK rapper MALE OR FEMALE”, says one user on Twitter.
“It’s going to take weeks, months, maybe even years to unlayer. Like all really good music does”, adds another fan.
Others are already claiming their favourite tracks, just hours after a first listen. Fans seem to be backing ‘Silhouette’, ‘Gorilla’ and ‘Broken’ — with some meriting the latter as being “one of the best tracks this year”.
Whilst we sit back and listen, we can only admire the hard work of Little Simz in 2022, and it would seem that the following year could also hold more well-deserved prizes for her fifth studio album. Centring on conscious hip-hop, the rapper’s humble delivery should not be taken lightly, as she continues to shift boundaries and assert her dominance over UK rap.
“Emotion is energy in motion. Honour your truth and feelings. Eradicate fear. Boundaries are important,” as she said on her Instagram last week, and it makes all the more sense after listening to NO THANK YOU.
