Little Simz Drops Punk-Tinged New Curveball from Upcoming Album Lotus

Little Simz has rarely been one to play it safe, and with her new single, Young, she isn’t bucking the trend.

The third drop from her upcoming sixth album Lotus, landing 6th June is bold and it’s weird and we’re kinda liking it. This is Simz flexing her creative muscles with the freedom of a banshee recently released early and without chemical castration from HMP Wandsworth.

Where previous singles Free and Flood offered introspection and sonic warmth, Young swerves hard into avenues punky and playful. With Young Simz dials up the character work, hitting a high-pitched delivery that feels like performance art over a bassline that ushers in an otherworldly dimension. “I was able to tap into a character. That was fun for me,” she says. “It’s just a moment of light heartedness.” Light-hearted, maybe. But it still hits hard.

The visuals are no joke either. Reuniting with Dave Meyers, the director behind Simz’s award-winning Gorilla video, Simz has produced a motion-footage Young companion-piece that’s chaotic and colour-soaked. It’s London, future-tense.

On production duties is Miles Clinton James, who’s apparently unafraid to steer Simz into fresh terrain. It’s another sign that Lotus won’t be playing by the rules. The album is shaping up to be a experience — sonically, emotionally, spiritually. There’s a big ol’ guestlist going on, too: Moses Sumney, Miraa May, Wretch 32, Cashh, Michael Kiwanuka, Yussef Dayes, Sampha, Lydia Kitto, Yukimi Nagano, Obongjayar, and Moonchild Sanelly are all set appear when Lotus drops.

The LP’s title speaks volumes, too, conjuring themes of rebirth, evolution and growth. If Young is anything to go by, Simz is about to evolve into some interesting directions.

Already a heavy-hitter with the BRITs and MOBOs and a 2021 Mercury Prize winner, Simz is hardly a stranger to pushing boundaries. Last year she tore up the Top Boy finale, before her 2024 Pyramid Stage Glasto set elevated her into the UK music scene’s upper echelons.

Beats Clubbers, will have to  travel to catch Simz live this autumn, mind. Her headline arena shows in Manchester and then London mean us here in the west are once again tragically overlooked.

Isn’t it about time we unleashed that big, Bristol-based stadium the council are always on about opening?