In partnership with Open’er Festival
Little Simz explained the meaning behind her single ‘Free’ during her performance on the main stage at Open’er Festival 2025.
Yesterday (July 4), the north London lyrical technician took centre stage at this year’s event. She played a handful of songs from her discography, mostly performing songs from her latest album ‘Lotus’ as well as standouts from her earlier work, such as ‘Two Worlds Apart’ and ‘Woman’ from 2021’s ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’.
While introducing ‘Free’ – the second single from ‘Lotus’, released this March – she got candid with the crowd. First, she continually thanked them for their appreciation and attendance: “I don’t take any of that for granted because when I was coming up, I used to perform in front of 10 people. So this is very, very, very mad and I’m so very grateful that you guys took time to come and see me.”
She continued: “It’s my job to try and try and spread love and light. I do my best. I’m only human, but I wrote this song to try and put a little bit more love into the world… a little bit more light. So if you guys feel like you want to join in, I think it’s all right.”
‘Lotus’ was released last month, with guest spots from Obongjayar, Lydia Kitto of Jungle, Miraa May, Wretch 32, Michael Kiwanuka, Yussef Dayes, Sampha and more.
In a four-star review, NME called ‘Lotus’ “a raw reckoning from rap’s quiet warrior”: “Across 13 tracks, Simz sifts through grief, pressure, burnout and spiritual reckoning with a vulnerability that is admirable, making it among her most important works emotionally rather than sonically.”
Many speculated that some songs from the album reference her current legal issues with former frequent collaborator Dean “InFlo” Cover. In March, she sued the producer and founder of musical collective SAULT, claiming he failed to repay a loan and improperly accounted for funds provided by Sony to cover recording costs. The loan in question allegedly amount to £1.7million. The two worked closely for a while, with InFlo producing Simz’s 2019 album ‘GREY Area’ as well as 2021’s ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’ and 2022’s ‘No Thank You’.
In other news, NME declared ‘Lotus’ as one of the best albums of 2025 so far – check out the full list here.
Simz is also set to perform two arena shows in London and Manchester later this year, marking her biggest headline UK dates yet. Visit here to buy tickets.
Open’er Festival will conclude today with Linkin Park headlining. Doechii, Camila Cabello, Girl In Red and more will also perform in Gdynia for the closing day.