Little Simz has announced her new album ‘Lotus’ and has shared the menacing new song ‘Flood’.
Produced by Miles Clinton James, the album’s lead single features a thunderous drum beat as Simz raps: “Number One is play your position / Don’t trust all the hands that you shake / If I put the wrong code in the system / Won’t be no permanent change,” with a husky snarl.
‘Flood’ also sees Simz team up with her long-time collaborators Obongjayar and Moonchild Sanelly. Directed by Salomon Ligthelm, the song’s accompanying black-and-white video sees the rapper dressed as a matador alongside a man who is dressed the same. He is then defeated but then comes back to life to “fight” dancers dressed as bulls, eventually defeating them.
‘Flood’ serves as the lead single and first taster of the rapper’s forthcoming sixth album ‘Lotus’. A press release describes the LP as an embodiment of “renewal and growth, mirroring her evolving artistry and the album’s thematic voyage through life’s intricate phases.”
‘Lotus’ is set for release on May 9 via AWAL and can be pre-ordered here. Though the album’s tracklist has yet to be revealed, you can check out the LP’s artwork below. “Setting the tone for May 9th. Embodying my artistry in the truest form with the first visuals for this new season. Run that up x,” wrote Simz in the caption of her lates Instagram post.
‘Lotus’ follows the Mercury Prize and BRIT award-winning rapper’s previous album, 2022’s ‘NO THANK YOU’. In a four-star review of the LP, NME shared: “‘NO THANK YOU’s quiet, understated release provides parallels to Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Untitled Unmastered’ release from 2016, a series of leftovers from his ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ sessions.
“That too had a certain looseness and freedom to the tracks, and, much like Lamar, a clear-headed Simz has something to say urgently. The case for Simz to be recognised as a true modern great has only been strengthened with this release.”
She wrapped up 2024 with the release of her single ‘Hello, Hi’ and hinted that there would be more to come in 2025. Simz also appeared on the recent Coldplay single ‘We Pray’, Sampha’s ‘Satellite Business 2.0’ and on Wretch 32’s comeback track ‘Black And British’.
She also joined forces with the Tate Modern last year to curate an evening of late-night sessions of music, workshops and conversations. Last November, Simz was also on hand to present Busta Rhymes with the Global Icon Award at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Manchester.
The English-Nigerian rapper is also nominated in the Hip-hop/Grime/Rap Act category for the forthcoming BRIT Awards 2025 alongside Stormzy, Central Cee, DAVE and Ghetts, which is one of five categories set to be decided for the first time ever by fans in a BRITs WhatsApp chat.
In other news, Little Simz was recently announced as the curator of the 2025 edition of Meltdown at London’s Southbank Centre.