UK - 2022
UK Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop, Neo-Soul, Jazz Rap
Did you listen when she first said it ? What were you doing when everyone was praising Sometimes I Might Be Introvert ? Maybe you lost yourself in the lush orchestral instrumentation surrounding the lyrics. NO THANK YOU is an answer. In bold capital letters, you cannot lose yourself anymore, you cannot act deaf and not pay attention to the text. Hear her. Simbi wasn’t about orchestration, it was about putting in a grandiose shape the most introspective lyrics she ever wrote. It was a tour de force of hip-hop music, it made her a star. She never asked for it. Because stars are people we stare at, stars blind us. You can’t hear what a star is saying. With this answer Little Simz decided to make things clear. She kills the star. She kills the orchestra. She has words and she has heart. She has technics and she has precepts. NO THANK YOU is one of the biggest and most interesting surprise album of the year. It’s quite difficult to compare it with her previous work, and calling it her best can sound expeditious, but NO THANK YOU has to be remembered has one of the most brilliant album of the decade for a lot of reasons. If on SIMBI she was talking to herself, building her persona and healing her wounds, NO THANK YOU is directly addressed to her audience, and Simz appears as a powerful being and a leading figure of Black culture. She’s not here to heal anymore, nor to reflects on her early days. Certified legend, Simz acts more confident than ever before.
With producer Inflo at his best, the opening track already took us off guard because of the instrumentation. Loops, discreet lush melodies. With other pieces like Sideways and No Merci, I don’t think I’m taking any risks to cite Nujabes as a big influence. And years after his passing, NO THANK YOU sounds like one of the smartest influenced album by the Japanese producer. But Inflo isn’t taking ideas directly from the beloved genius, he makes it its own by incorporating gospel to his eerie loops. SIMBI was overflowing of ideas, and I say this in the most positive way possible, but here Simz goes back to what sounds like much more minimalist ideas. Lo-fi post-minimalism hip-hop. A very good example of this shift happens during what is to me her greatest song to date, Broken. It all starts with a gospel choir singing a deeply moving and still catchy hook « When you feel broken and you don’t exist / When you feel broken and you cannot fix it ». This is the mantra repeated during the entire seven-minute song. Your ears keep focusing on that melodic hook while Simz is delivering her words. And her flow is impeccable. On the song Broken, she talks to a Black woman struggling to find the light in her life. Well, in fact, Simz is talking to every Black woman in general, and after that, to everyone struggling with their lives. Little Simz turns herself into a hope-keeper and a light spreader.
The subtlety of the mix throughout this song is goldsmithery. She doesn’t need any over the top production here, she doesn’t even need to raise the tone of her voice to make us shiver with her words. On the contrary, the strongest words we can hear in this song are all pronounced in a very quiet manner, whether with « Scrutinize for freein’ the truth about the system / All she wanted to do was uplift the women » or with her elegiac speech « You exist, you alive, you are deservin’ of life / You are a beacon of light, you are determined to fly / You have a journal inside, you have the power to write / You have the opportunity every day to decide, choose love. » And how she says it, how her impeccable flow is broken by « choose love » to give momentum to the formula and then relentlessly she goes « It might just blossom into a new love / But whatever happens, just know that you’ve won ». The power of such words, especially because of the way they are arranged and pronounced, is immeasurable. I was talking about how the hook was working as a mantra about your inner feelings being at your lowest. Well when your ears start focusing on Simz’ lyrics, it makes you realize that, to find a way out, you need to give all your attention to the words, to the speeches. In other words, Broken is Simz ’ opportunity to tell us that always trying to find diversions will keep hurting us more than facing the problems.
Because diversions and entertainment with grandiose ensemble always are a way not to see the darkness, but if you read my review of Mydreamfever’s Rough and Beautiful Place, you would also know that this means it’s also a way not to see the light. The light within you. Little Simz always was a Black feminist icon. Her words were like prayers to repeat in order to affirm our inner strengths. That’s Venom. Then she told us how imperfect and incomplete she felt, that she needed to face those who hurt her, within her family and the music industry, linking this to historical Black traumas. That’s Introvert. And now, she talks about us. That’s Broken, the bridge between the artist standing alone on a stage, studying the way she sees the world around her, and using her eyes to share her vision and make everything around her look different so we can wake up. That’s Broken. « No one told you your mind is not to be played with / No one ever taught you ‘bout moderation and patience / Under all the eyes and the pressure and the scrutiny / Why is mental health a taboo in the Black community ? » The album title has two meanings. NO THANK YOU could be addressed to the hypocritical music industry saying how thankful they are for her music, while perpetrating oppressive mechanisms and keeping Black traumas alive.
But NO THANK YOU is also addressed to her fans. Thank you for your music, thank you for being important in my life, thank you for showing us it was possible. Thank you. Obviously Simz isn’t rejecting those words full of love. But she’s saying something else. Something that could sound like « Stop staring at me. I can be inspirational, but what did my music do for you exactly ? How did you use what you learned from me in your everyday life ? Don’t hear my music in order to turn to me. Hear my music in order to turn to yourself. You are the point. So don’t stop at « thank you ». Act. » With songs like X, Silhouette, No Merci and Heart on Fire she empowers us. The rhythm and beauty of those songs is highly addictive. And just like on Broken, her voice sometimes reaches the volume of the production. They merge. She becomes an instrument. Lyrics ain’t clear, because we all need to pay more attention to them. She commands us to make an effort. While sounding astonishingly effortless during 50 minutes. I mentionned Nujabes before, but I don’t think I’ve ever been thinking this much about Ms. Lauryn Hill too, especially the one from Blunted on Reality, the legendary rapper-singer playing with words and political views as if they were branches in the wind. From Gorilla to X and No Merci, Simz proves (even though this is a poor choice of words since she doesn’t have to prove anything) that she’s one of the most creative rapper of all time.
Hear how time feels suspended when the drums disappear on Angel. Hear how playful and free she is while singing « Don’t ask my opinion on shit ‘cause to make you feel good about yourself is exhaustin » on Gorilla. Hear how strong and assured she acts at the end of the first verse of Silhouette. Hear how the beatswitch crystallises the bridge between her power and ours on No Merci. Hear how her flow work as a military march with « Turbulence results in your mind racin’, prone to dehydration / Runnin’ cause you want freedom, don’t die chasin’ » on X. Hear how rightfully pitiless she appears on Heart on Fire. Hear how divine the songwriting and production intertwine to underline generational trauma on Broken. Hear how precise and efficient she sounds on the minimalist Sideways. Hear how aerial and spatial the atmosphere perspires on Who Even Cares. And finally, hear how tenderness and a delicate breeze of unconditional love ends this album on Control. Her tone is softer now. It’s just her and a personal relationship. Just a smile reciting a bitter poem « You give me ocean and reason to moan / I’ll give you passion and keys to my soul ». A window into her world that tesifies how radiant and human Simz is. Beauty shuts the door. The baby of Broken was a « clone » due to generational trauma. The baby of Control is « gorgeous and green », the colour of hope. You heard, now look at us, look at you. Stop staring at the stars.
With producer Inflo at his best, the opening track already took us off guard because of the instrumentation. Loops, discreet lush melodies. With other pieces like Sideways and No Merci, I don’t think I’m taking any risks to cite Nujabes as a big influence. And years after his passing, NO THANK YOU sounds like one of the smartest influenced album by the Japanese producer. But Inflo isn’t taking ideas directly from the beloved genius, he makes it its own by incorporating gospel to his eerie loops. SIMBI was overflowing of ideas, and I say this in the most positive way possible, but here Simz goes back to what sounds like much more minimalist ideas. Lo-fi post-minimalism hip-hop. A very good example of this shift happens during what is to me her greatest song to date, Broken. It all starts with a gospel choir singing a deeply moving and still catchy hook « When you feel broken and you don’t exist / When you feel broken and you cannot fix it ». This is the mantra repeated during the entire seven-minute song. Your ears keep focusing on that melodic hook while Simz is delivering her words. And her flow is impeccable. On the song Broken, she talks to a Black woman struggling to find the light in her life. Well, in fact, Simz is talking to every Black woman in general, and after that, to everyone struggling with their lives. Little Simz turns herself into a hope-keeper and a light spreader.
The subtlety of the mix throughout this song is goldsmithery. She doesn’t need any over the top production here, she doesn’t even need to raise the tone of her voice to make us shiver with her words. On the contrary, the strongest words we can hear in this song are all pronounced in a very quiet manner, whether with « Scrutinize for freein’ the truth about the system / All she wanted to do was uplift the women » or with her elegiac speech « You exist, you alive, you are deservin’ of life / You are a beacon of light, you are determined to fly / You have a journal inside, you have the power to write / You have the opportunity every day to decide, choose love. » And how she says it, how her impeccable flow is broken by « choose love » to give momentum to the formula and then relentlessly she goes « It might just blossom into a new love / But whatever happens, just know that you’ve won ». The power of such words, especially because of the way they are arranged and pronounced, is immeasurable. I was talking about how the hook was working as a mantra about your inner feelings being at your lowest. Well when your ears start focusing on Simz’ lyrics, it makes you realize that, to find a way out, you need to give all your attention to the words, to the speeches. In other words, Broken is Simz ’ opportunity to tell us that always trying to find diversions will keep hurting us more than facing the problems.
Because diversions and entertainment with grandiose ensemble always are a way not to see the darkness, but if you read my review of Mydreamfever’s Rough and Beautiful Place, you would also know that this means it’s also a way not to see the light. The light within you. Little Simz always was a Black feminist icon. Her words were like prayers to repeat in order to affirm our inner strengths. That’s Venom. Then she told us how imperfect and incomplete she felt, that she needed to face those who hurt her, within her family and the music industry, linking this to historical Black traumas. That’s Introvert. And now, she talks about us. That’s Broken, the bridge between the artist standing alone on a stage, studying the way she sees the world around her, and using her eyes to share her vision and make everything around her look different so we can wake up. That’s Broken. « No one told you your mind is not to be played with / No one ever taught you ‘bout moderation and patience / Under all the eyes and the pressure and the scrutiny / Why is mental health a taboo in the Black community ? » The album title has two meanings. NO THANK YOU could be addressed to the hypocritical music industry saying how thankful they are for her music, while perpetrating oppressive mechanisms and keeping Black traumas alive.
But NO THANK YOU is also addressed to her fans. Thank you for your music, thank you for being important in my life, thank you for showing us it was possible. Thank you. Obviously Simz isn’t rejecting those words full of love. But she’s saying something else. Something that could sound like « Stop staring at me. I can be inspirational, but what did my music do for you exactly ? How did you use what you learned from me in your everyday life ? Don’t hear my music in order to turn to me. Hear my music in order to turn to yourself. You are the point. So don’t stop at « thank you ». Act. » With songs like X, Silhouette, No Merci and Heart on Fire she empowers us. The rhythm and beauty of those songs is highly addictive. And just like on Broken, her voice sometimes reaches the volume of the production. They merge. She becomes an instrument. Lyrics ain’t clear, because we all need to pay more attention to them. She commands us to make an effort. While sounding astonishingly effortless during 50 minutes. I mentionned Nujabes before, but I don’t think I’ve ever been thinking this much about Ms. Lauryn Hill too, especially the one from Blunted on Reality, the legendary rapper-singer playing with words and political views as if they were branches in the wind. From Gorilla to X and No Merci, Simz proves (even though this is a poor choice of words since she doesn’t have to prove anything) that she’s one of the most creative rapper of all time.
Hear how time feels suspended when the drums disappear on Angel. Hear how playful and free she is while singing « Don’t ask my opinion on shit ‘cause to make you feel good about yourself is exhaustin » on Gorilla. Hear how strong and assured she acts at the end of the first verse of Silhouette. Hear how the beatswitch crystallises the bridge between her power and ours on No Merci. Hear how her flow work as a military march with « Turbulence results in your mind racin’, prone to dehydration / Runnin’ cause you want freedom, don’t die chasin’ » on X. Hear how rightfully pitiless she appears on Heart on Fire. Hear how divine the songwriting and production intertwine to underline generational trauma on Broken. Hear how precise and efficient she sounds on the minimalist Sideways. Hear how aerial and spatial the atmosphere perspires on Who Even Cares. And finally, hear how tenderness and a delicate breeze of unconditional love ends this album on Control. Her tone is softer now. It’s just her and a personal relationship. Just a smile reciting a bitter poem « You give me ocean and reason to moan / I’ll give you passion and keys to my soul ». A window into her world that tesifies how radiant and human Simz is. Beauty shuts the door. The baby of Broken was a « clone » due to generational trauma. The baby of Control is « gorgeous and green », the colour of hope. You heard, now look at us, look at you. Stop staring at the stars.