Little Simz shares new single ‘Free’ ahead of forthcoming album Lotus

Little Simz has released ‘Free’, the second track to be taken from her upcoming album Lotus, which arrives on 9th May.

Originally written as a poem, the track is built around themes of love and fear. “Love will never judge you because of your pain,” she raps over sweeping, cinematic production by Miles Clinton James. It follows the ominous, collaborative lead single ‘Flood’ featuring Obongjayar and Moonchild Sanelly, which came accompanied by a visually arresting video directed by Salomon Ligthelm.

Both singles begin to reveal the thematic and sonic scope of Lotus, a record Simz describes as reflecting “renewal and growth.” The title draws on the flower’s symbolism of transformation through adversity, framing a project that explores life’s contradictions and personal evolution.

Lotus will be Little Simz’s sixth studio album and follows 2022’s NO THANK YOU and the Mercury Prize-winning Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, released in 2021. The past year has seen Simz expand her creative output with a headline performance at Glastonbury and her role in the final season of Netflix’s Top Boy.

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Simz also curates this year’s Meltdown Festival at Southbank Centre, celebrating its 30th anniversary in June. Her curated line-up includes The Streets, Sasha Keable, Ghetts, Lola Young and Jon Batiste, with Simz herself closing the event in a special performance alongside the Chineke! Orchestra.

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