Little Simz — Simbiatu Ajikawo — first recorded music at St Mary's Youth Club in Islington, growing up the daughter of Nigerian parents in North London.
Stratosphere, her 2010 debut mixtape, started an independent run that included three full albums released entirely outside the major-label system: A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons, Stillness in Wonderland, and Grey Area.
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, her fourth album, changed that trajectory in 2021 — widely named album of the year by multiple outlets, it won the Mercury Prize and a BRIT Award in 2022, and by 2024 she'd added a MOBO Award and a Pyramid Stage set at Glastonbury, a decade-plus overnight success built entirely on records she made without a major label behind her.