In muddy, gloomy waters, a pristine flower blooms. Little Simz’s new album Lotus turns isolation and pain into passion and pride. She weaves a tale of deep betrayal through production and wordplay; each song on the album a decorative petal, testament to her resilience.
On the first petal of Lotus, ‘Thief’, Little Simz echoes a sound similar to her 2019 album, GREY Area. Straight into crashing drums and bouncy baselines, she flexes her musical muscles, with fervous licks of lyricism. Maintaining this energy on ‘Young’, we hear an almost post punk-esque track with vindictive lyrics, overtly crusading her love for her art. “Yeah, so don’t be looking at my face weird, I am somebody that they feared/ I just wanna play my bass here”. By the time we reach the receptacle of Lotus, ‘Peace’, we’re graced with glowing melodies of pianos and guitar chords, layered with harmonies from Moses Sumney, Miraa May and Little Simz herself.
The end of the project is a deep reflection into Simz’s personal life – of broken trust and prominent disappointment. The title track ‘Lotus’ brings introspection and venom through Simz’s flow and cadence, whilst the production is blessed with polyrhythms from Yussef Dayes and emboldened by violins, church bells and flutes, It feels like a liberatory statement, with a flowery chorus from Michael Kiwanuka; choral harmonies encasing this divine symphony.
Glowing, orchestral and grandiose production has been a blueprint for Little Simz’s art: from GREY Area to S.I.M.B.I to NO THANK YOU. The following loss and destruction of her friendship with producer Inflo left a hole in her life that brought doubt and destabilised her will in music. With a new bond formed with producer Michael James Clinton, Lotus is a testament to that strength and beauty the lotus flower itself emanates. The turbulence in Simz’s life is merely fertiliser for her regrowth as an artist, reconstructing her confidence to continue blossoming independently.
Words by badbitchbenny