Two weeks ago, Little Simz took to Instagram to post two images of herself with the brief message: “Sorry I been quiet, I’ve been working. New music coming.” Although it doesn’t feel like two years have passed since GREY Area—especially since she interrupted the interminable slog of lockdown with the Drop 6 EP last year—we’re still more than grateful to get word that a new album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, is on the way.
Lead single “Introvert” is massive in scale, opening with a marching drum line, cinematic horns and an ethereal choir before slipping into an urgent rap instrumental—this all by the producer Inflo. The real power here lies in the writing as Simz rips into subjects like gentrification, police brutality, her own mental health, the pitched battles between left and right and much more. “I’m a Black woman and a proud one,” she raps before later adding, “As long as we’re unified, then we’ve already won.”
As if that weren’t enough, she’s also dropped off visuals for the single, a six-minute epic directed by Salomon Ligthelm and filmed in an eerily quiet Natural History Museum. As grand in scale as the track itself, the video switches between a choreographed routine in the museum and various shots of Simz moving through the concrete inner city as well as flashes of paintings of Black historical figures, family portraits and the striking image of a white flag going up in flames.
Peep the visuals for “Introvert” above and be sure to add the song to your playlists.
