★★★★★
Once again Little Simz has shown us her versatility, talent and showmanship as she performed her first-ever headline show at the O2 in Greenwich.
This tour is in promotion of her latest album Lotus, which as per all of her previous albums revealed a new side and talent of the artist.
A woman who is proud but always humble, Simz is a star a long time in the making. The show opened with an adorable video clip of a mini Simz rapping on the big screens in a killer red Nike tracksuit set, stating “we all need to respect each other in this room”. As the lights dimmed Emma Corrin, who provided voiceovers on the fourth album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, rose onto the stage with an inspiring poem about respect and love.
Quickly, Little Simz herself bounced onto the stage in a futuristic-looking poncho and sunglasses. From the start, the energy in the building was palpable as at one point the audience cheered and screamed for a full minute as Simz stood on stage soaking in her headline, homecoming show. Again, with a nod to her trademark modesty, she thanked the crowd multiple times, stating how emotional it was to be performing back in London.
Like any good Little Simz show, audiences were guided through a rollercoaster of emotions through her varied body of work. Starting fun and a little goofy with Young and 101 FM, we then heard the full power of Little Simz’s roar with Lion and Heart on Fire. The O2 turned into the city’s largest club with a medley of Drop 7 tracks which served as an interlude before Simz how hard she found it to release Lotus to the world. Before performing Lonely, we saw a vulnerable yet strong Simz encourage the audience to pursue their creativity and remember that not everything has to be perfect, it just needs to be started.
Along with opener Green Tea Peng, many other incredible talents were brought out to perform. Both Wretch 32 and Cashh (who playfully referred to her as Big Simz) came out, followed by Sampha to perform their respective songs from Lotus.
The night ended with thousands of people squeezing onto the Jubilee Line with tinned cocktails, hoarse voices and incredible memories of an artist who will continue to blossom year on year like the titular flower.