She’s been referred as “the illest doing it right now” by Kendrick Lamar, a “legend” by Stormzy in his 2019 headline Glastonbury set and has had Rihanna fangirl over her, but for a long time Little Simz – born Simbi Ajikawo – was largely ignored by the mainstream industry.
That was until Tuesday night, where the Nigerian artist won the coveted Mercury Award. The 28-year-old told the ceremony in London that she was "very overwhelmed and grateful" to receive the honour, and paid tribute to the other nominees Self Esteem, Wet Leg, Harry Styles and Sam Fender. "We all made incredible albums," she said on stage. "We all changed people’s lives with our music, and that’s the most important thing."
