20 December 2016
Newsdesk
Tonight at 8pm GMT on Beats 1 don’t miss a special show where Little Simz joins Julie to co-host her show. The pair discuss Simz and her relationship with the UK, her friendship with Kehlani, her dream collaboration with Anderson Paak, the new album and lots more!
On her issue with the UK
My issue is… I’ve just always felt secluded and almost isolated. But not in a way that’s like, “ahh I’m here on my own.” It’s cool, it is what it is, but I think people have this thing where like if they don’t contribute to the narrative they don’t wanna be a part of the story. And for me that’s like just silly. You see someone come from the same circumstances or the same situations as yourself and a young woman of colour at that, trying to do something good and to do something positive, and you choose to turn a blind eye to it. It’s just like, “are we not supposed to all have each other?” And especially when the support is so great with other people and they get backed 100%. But it’s not something that I openly want to be like, “ahh no-one supports me” you know what I’m saying?… I know where my support lies and I try and focus my energy on that.
On her ‘King Of Hearts’ collaboration with Chip and Ghetts
I got Chip first. He’s just so witty and so cheeky and so clever with it. It was perfect and he done his dirt and he actually suggested we get Ghetts on it. And then reached out to Ghetts and Ghetts went to war with it… This is the first time I worked with Chip, the first time I worked with Ghetts and it just clicked. It was sick.
On her track ‘Picture Perfect’
‘Picture Perfect’ for me is where I’m like, you know, probably at the peak of it all and enjoying it the most and I’m probably having the most fun in this place I call ‘Wonderland’ and it’s like I don’t ever wanna leave. I’m good here. I’m good by myself. Don’t worry about who I came with, I came dolo and I’m just really really gassed.
On her collaborators on the album
These are all my friends as well, you know. These are all people that I would call and be like, “Yeah what you saying? What’s good? What you on today? Link up”. You know what I’m saying? It’s just like casual and it just felt right. These are all people that contributed greatly to how the record sounds and without them it wouldn’t sound the same.
On her mini-festival at The Roundhouse
I’m really excited. I’ve been going to The Roundhouse for years now and so the previous years I think I was doing ‘Roundhouse Rising’ in the small room, just like 250 capacity or whatever. And then to like come back another year and be able to take over the whole like 3000, in the main space, and then like do different stuff throughout the day… it’s just so sick man. And shout out The Roundhouse as well for giving me the opportunity to do that.
On her friendship with Kehlani
I met Kehlani maybe like three years ago at SXSW in Austin. And I was doing a show and she came and she ran in and we exchanged numbers and then from there we just was cool, it was never even about music - we just built a friendship on some human to human… I was gonna say the “s” word but… One day she just hit me, she Facetimed me and was like, “Ahh I’ve got this song” and I was like, “Sick! Send it, I’m going to the studio tomorrow, I’ll lay it.” Sent it back the next day. We released it. And she came and we shot the video… I think her story for a start is a story that needs to be told and I feel she’s one of the most important voices of our generation and with that comes great responsibility and I think just the way she carries herself, you know, as a young woman is something that I think young women need to see. She’s mad witty like she’s so funny…
