A balmy Sunday evening in June, and the closing night of the annual Meltdown festival at London’s Southbank Centre. This year’s eleven day event has been curated by innovative artist, and personal favourite, Little Simz, and has included performances from Tiwa Savage, Lola Young, Mahalia, The Streets and more; showcasing an eclectic range of talent and musical styles. And now, to mark the festival’s finale, Little Simz herself takes to the stage, not only accompanied by her trusted band, but by the 42 strong Chineke Orchestra – a collective predominantly consisting of black and ethnically diverse musicians.
Taking place inside the renowned Royal Festival Hall, it seems like the perfect setting for such a memorable event; and, as the orchestra starts to deliver the opening bars of ‘Introvert’, oozing a formidable sense of cinematic grandeur, excitement ripples from wall-to-wall of the jam-packed space, before Little Simz appears, glowing with a sparkling energy, as though she’s been waiting for this moment her whole life. And perhaps she has; the creator of six albums, winner of multiple awards, and often hailed as the country’s best rapper, in addition to being a respected actor, it feels only right that her journey has lead her here – performing to a sold out crowd of family, friends and fans of all genders, ages and backgrounds. A beautiful culmination of not only the past week’s events, but of her career’s achievements so far.
Continuing to deliver tracks spanning this impressive career, from the gritty energy of this year’s ‘Thief’ and a soulful rendition of ‘Peace’ with collaborator and childhood friend Miraa May (“… we used to sing together in the park while she played guitar”), to songs from her previous albums like the passionate reflection of 2022’s ‘Heart On Fire’ (in which she flits throughout the aisles, greeting the crowd with an endearing warmth), and the catchy singalong refrain and angst-driven power of ‘I Love You, I Hate You’, from 2021’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.
Whether she’s delivering new or old tracks, however, Little Simz’s immense dedication to giving us the most enjoyable and entertaining performance possible remains consistent; fluctuating between a fierce raw emotion and sweeping euphoric energy, there isn’t a moment that she doesn’t seem fully immersed in sharing her innovative creations with us.
Little Simz’s commitment to sharing and collaborating is evident in the many special guests that join her on stage throughout the night. In addition to Miraa May, frequent musical partner Obongjayar joins her in bounding across the stage with a buoyant energy for ‘Lion and Point’, whilst prominent grime artist Wretch 32 weaves throughout the crowd whilst interacting with Simz for the poignant to-and-fro dialogue of ‘Blood’ as Cashh intersperses with his reggaeton-inspired rhymes. She also seems intent on shining a light on her band, continually encouraging us to notice just how cool and talented they are, like in playful new album track ‘Young’, changing some lyrics to “Martha’s gonna play her bass here” as she highlights her bandmate’s fierce hooks.
As well as the band driving Little Simz’s trademark gritty energy, the addition of the Chineke Orchestra adds a perfect sweeping majestic splendour to the already powerful tracks. Providing a cinematic backdrop to the innovative artist’s stirring narrative, the grandeur of soaring strings and whirring woodwind rippling throughout the set at the hands of charismatic conductor Chris Cameron helps to create a wonderfully immersive, captivating atmosphere, adding to the epic memorable proportions of this very special performance. A particular highlight of the set being when Simz takes the reins from Cameron for the immense introduction of ‘Venom’, conducting the orchestra before turning to the crowd as she raps with stoic conviction: “Never givin’ credit where it’s due ’cause you don’t like pussy in power. Venom.”
Whilst many of Little Simz’ tracks, like ‘Venom’, stem from a sense of anger or injustice, which sizzles throughout the set, she’s also not afraid to share a more vulnerable, sensitive side – as she introduces the title track from her latest album, for example, she shares with the crowd that the album came to be after a period in which she’d struggled with her self-esteem and being able to create: “… it was a very, very challenging time: losing my self-confidence and feeling like I didn’t know how to find it again. I didn’t know how to make music; I didn’t know how to start a verse. I just felt very depleted, so I wrote a song about it.” Cue the soulful, heartfelt emotion and beautifully raw honesty of ‘Lotus’.
Throughout the performance as a whole, an endearing sense of pride and gratitude emanates from Simz; you can really feel the emotion oozing from the stage. Whether that’s a fierce reflection on personal struggles, an impassioned push for change on a wider level, or a more nostalgic sentimentality, there’s no doubt that what she’s sharing is real; it’s honest, it’s empowering, and it’s inspiring. And I think this really reflects the meaning of the new album, of the Lotus, as Simz explained in a recent interview with Louis Theoroux: “… we can thrive in muddy waters, no matter what we’ve been through, we can use it to channel something beautiful.”
Finally, after dedicating ‘Woman’ to “the girls dem“, Simz closes the set with the rousing energy of ‘Gorilla’ – with her perfectly intuitive, tongue-in-cheek lyrics accompanied by the full orchestra, this seems the perfect way to end the night; juxtaposing the searing raw power of Little Simz’s writing with the all-encompassing resplendent grandiosity of the instruments, contrasting elements all coming together as one in harmony.
Words: Mari Lane / @mari_getinherears
Photos: Pete Woodhead
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