Little Simz announced she will be releasing a new EP on May 6 titled Drop 6. The five-tracks were created entirely while the UK has been in lockdown, with Simz writing and recording each track herself.
“I don’t mind being alone,” Simz said in a statement. “I quite enjoy my own company actually. However choosing to be alone is different from being forced to be alone and that’s where the difficulty comes in. You’re stuck with yourself, 24 hours of the day, 7 days of the week.”
“I think about how this time in isolation has impacted my mental health and has brought to light how much I suppress things that I feel super intensely,” Simz said.
She gave herself the goal of completing an entire EP in April. In her statement she details a neighbor’s noise complaints and how she nearly gave up on the project, losing all motivation as negativity began to swallow her. Despite the discouragement, Simz found a burst of energy which led to reaching her goal.
“The middle feels like growing pains, self-doubt is a bitch and the only way out is through,” Simz said.
Simz shot the photo for the EP’s cover herself, with Jeremy Cole doing the artwork design. Simz had described in her statement her enjoyment of photography, explaining how she loves that it is an “instantaneous art form.” Cole had previously worked with Simz when he directed the short film that accompanied her 2017 album Stillness in Wonderland.
Simz titled the EP as an extension of her former EP series, The Age 101 Drops. The previous releases are currently available on her Soundcloud.
“I used to do an EP series years ago called the Age 101 Drops,” Simz said in a Twitter post. “They went up to five and i decided to continue.”
In the past year Simz has teamed up with Idris Elba, Q-Tip and James BKS, released single with Anna Wise. Drop 6 will be her first solo release since her third album, GREY area.
Track List
- might bang, might
- not one life, might live
- damn right
- you should call mum
- where’s my lighter ft. alewya
Update 5/7
Little Simz EP Drop 6 has been released in full. Each song on YouTube shows the album cover, where Simz had taken the photo herself and had it edited by Jeremy Cole.
Simz begins with “might bang, might not” her lyrics streaming with only the occasional sounds of a bass before more of the track falls in. Her chorus circles around while sirens make it sound unsettled as her voice drops to a whisper. She declares herself a “one woman army” in the fast and hectic beginning of her mixtape.
The opening notes of “one life, might live” were what Simz had been teasing to fans prior to the drop of her EP, where she tells fans “this will be the best thing I ever wrote.” With only her voice and the bass line, Simz shows her ambitions for Drop 6 and what she wants to follow. Drums join her in the chorus as she chants “I’ve got one life and I might just live it.”
Flutes and keyboards join Simz for “damn right” while she takes a softer approach with her raps, slowing her voice down and lending long pauses between verses while she echos each last word. The track lends a soft trap beat to help listeners focus on lyrics such as “Being here is a gift and a curse” and Simz describing driving to her childhood home.
Simz speeds up again in “you should call mum,” the keyboard and synths remaining with her. While her raps flow quickly, the instruments are slow behind her in soothing contrast. Keyboard and synths ping and slightly mix in a classic R&B instrumental.
The keyboard begins quietly on “where’s my lighter,” perhaps the saddest and most dramatic mood on the EP. Starting with heavy bass lines and her voice whispering sadly, stating “I don’t play,” the track ends with more mood than the rest, wrapping the EP with beauty and something to think about.
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