– THE MILITARY COUP –

“You’re not listening” Little Simz repeats twice in Offence’s chorus. Which feels a little harsh on the listening public.

After all, Simbiatu “Simbi” Abisola Abiola Ajikawo is a name many of us have been tracking (OK, not literally) for some years now. After all, the London rapper’s been putting out some of the most exciting, experimental music in hip-hop. And you don’t do that without developing some sort of reputation for yourself.

True, Simz hasn’t yet hit ‘commercial’ success but tracks like Shotgun from her 2016 record Stillness in Wonderland were shared enough to get this journalist’s attention and, in fact, I’ve even seen her in support of The Roots at London’s Somerset House so things haven’t been all bad for Ajikawo for a while.

Nevertheless, we get her point. She’s a super talented, super cool, all-English bad-ass who deserves to be bigger than Solange’s increasingly inflated ego and yet she’s still being underestimated.

Well, in Offence, Simz has made that point in the best possible way. Chock full of dynamic beats, old school funk flutes and strings and lyrics that don’t so much ‘cut’ as grind like a chainsaw, it is a juggernaut of a track.

And to be honest, it appears to have worked. Actually released last year, the track served as the appetiser for this week’s full length release, GREY Area, which has immediately taken the lead in the Critic’s Best Album of the Year list on review aggregator site, AlbumOfTheYear.com.

So who’s not listening now?

MORE FROM THIS WEEK’S MIX:

SINKANE | LITTLE SIMZ | SWEET JOSEPH | SQUID | MUTUAL BENEFIT

You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the 45 RPM Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

– SV –