A Review of Little Simz’s No Thank You
Falcon Rating: 4/5
February 12, 2023
Little Simz has a lot to say. On No Thank You, her most personal release to date, the London MC unleashes thoughtful bars over ten tracks that leave listeners with no doubt that she is an incredible lyricist. Simz has once again partnered with English producer Inflo, who provides us with smooth, emotional instrumentals from beginning to end. Coming off of last year’s Mercury Prize-winning Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, Little Simz released No Thank You in mid-December, just a week after it was announced.
On the incredibly smooth opener, “Angel”, Simz expresses her frustration with the music industry’s treatment of artists, while expressing her gratitude for being able to remain independent (the album was distributed by her own AGE 101 Music). She raps, “Yeah, I refuse to be on a slave ship/Give me all my masters and lower your wages,” in a clear indictment of label executives everywhere. Simz’s distrust of the industry continues to be one of the main themes of the album, reappearing later on “Sideways” and “Heart on Fire.”
The other significant topics covered on the LP include racism and mental health. “Broken,” one of the true highlights of the album, sees Little Simz masterfully tackling both issues as she raps about the struggles that many immigrants face: “No family to save you, no friends to aid you/Can’t even speak English, so there’s no one to explain to.” A beautiful choral sample makes up the base of the track, while Inflo’s accents of strings and bells add a layer of complexity.
However, my absolute favorite song on the album has to be “Gorilla,” which serves as a celebration of how hard Simz has worked as well as a warning that her competition doesn’t stand a chance. Engaging in braggadocio is always a risky endeavor for rappers, but, when done right, can be incredible. And let me tell you, Little Simz does it right. Over a funky breakbeat and a phat bassline (which some may recognize from “Concrete Schoolyard” by Jurassic 5), Simz flows as smoothly as butter as she drops bars like, “I got lines if you wanna get rentin’/Go find the agony aunt and get ventin’/Stop floodin’ my mentions with bulls**t/Talkin’ on Simz like she’s someone you went to school with.”
I wish I could say this was a perfect album, but there are some problems. First of all, it’s too long. Multiple tracks are well over six minutes long, and a lot of this length is added by outros and interludes. “Broken,” for example, has an almost two-minute-long string outro that, while nice, feels self-indulgent. My other qualm is that the production is fairly repetitive. Don’t get me wrong, I love Inflo’s luscious arrangements. But, it seems like about half the album’s beats feature similar filtered vocals and strings that get boring after a while. Nevertheless, this is a fine album. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I recommend that everyone should check out “Gorilla,” if nothing else.
This article also appears in our January 2023 print edition.
