Little Simz’s New Single Praises and Credits Her Introversion as Being The Key to Her Success
Little Simz spits in her new single, “Sometimes I might be introvert. There’s a war inside, I hear battle cries.” Little Simz identifies heavily as an introvert – a poetic, silent wisdom eluding from her and an inner library crammed into the confinements of her being. She is indefinitely the wallflower, basking in her shy reserve as it quietly observes its surroundings from a bird’s eye view- all eyes no mouth, at least at first.
The track’s instrumentation transports you right into a battle ground, martial drums sounding off like the march of soldiers in the background of the beat. Introversion acts as an emotional shield for Little Simz to protect herself from both the inner and the outer war (the one playing out in her mind, and the one playing out in society – in a political and moral arena.)
Her form of release is found through the act of creating music itself. Her extroversion and directedness is only around to roam and howl through the duration of a track. The bars she raps are her battle cries, yes, but they are also a reflection of the battle cries of this world that we are all forced to bottle up and conceal.
Introversion is used as a tool of survival for Little Simz as well as a weapon that could turn against her. She talks about the pressure on society as a whole to somehow bottle up and swallow all of the evil this world sheds continuously. The stigma against mental health only increases emotional detachment and numbness – leaving us conditioned not to feel, and weak for expressing how we really feel on the inside.
She raps, “ I need a license to feel. Internal wounds and I’m not tryna be healed. I sabotage what we are trying to build, ‘cause of feelings I keep inside, but it’s time to reveal. I hate the thought of just being a burden. I hate that these conversations are surface.”
Little Simz goes on to touch on survival guilt and mentions the way fame can rob you of your authenticity, freedom, and personal happiness. She references the icon, Amy Winehouse – who Simz has claimed is a massive inspiration to her.
She spits, “Close to success, but to happiness, I’m the furthest. At night, I wonder if my tears will dry on their own. Hoping I will fulfil Amy’s purpose. Angel said, Don’t let your ego be a disturbance. Inner demon said, Motherfucker, you earned this.”
On the other hand, Simz takes pride in her ability to regulate her own emotions despite persistent turbulence and chaos. Her perspective and insight is as elevated as an ancient temple. Little Simz finds personal power and strength within her ability to build a sanctuary inside the confines of her mind as her outer environment continues to rot – poisoned by violence, greed, and systematic oppression.
A true poet and master of the pen knows their venom lies in the way words can sting in areas and degrees that actions can’t. We have been conditioned to think our individual voice does not carry the future on it’s tongue and that our screams don’t deserve to be expressed if nobody is listening, let alone hearing us.
It takes a collective of voices to form a choir, it takes one gun fired to start a war. It takes bystanders and onlookers to prolong change. It takes thousands of white american’s throat chakras permanently blocked to allow racism to continue to grow. It takes you and your defiance to evoke a riot, to throw flame into the fire of rebellion.
Little Simz is refusing to remain quiet on trauma that demands to be seen and validated – whether that be her own personal demons or that of the world. She is a fire-breathing dragon on this track, spewing all her lava until she has nothing left – no heavy conscious burning her lungs.
Simz has mentioned that “Introvert” is the first single to be shared off her upcoming album. If this single says anything about what we can expect from her future album, it is the guarantee that nothing will be held back.
The single ends with the words, “Alone, but not lonely. Your truth unveils with time. As you embark on a journey of what it takes to be a woman.” Perhaps that is the exact journey and narrative that Simz will utilize and embody for the album – the resilience and strength it takes to be a woman.
Simz raps in the last verse, “I’m a black woman and I’m a proud one. We walk in blind faith not knowing the outcome, but as long as we are unified then we’ve already won.”
