By Evie Owens in beyondthecanon — 15 Dec 2025

5.3, Part 2

Wikipedia Style Entry

Little Simz

Simbiatu Ajikawo better known by musician name ‘Little Simz’ is a British and Nigerian musician, rapper and more recently has ventured into other multidisciplinary creative practices. She was born 23^rd of February 1994 and rose to recognition with the release of her first 3 albums: A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons (2015), Stillness in Wonderland (2016) and Grey Area (2019). Her album Grey Area won awards for the Best Album at the Ivor Novello awards and has since gone on to win the Mercury Prize for the best British or Irish album of the last 12 months in 2022 with her fourth album ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’. (BBC News (2022) Little Simz named winner of 2022 Mercury Prize. BBC News.)

Furthermore, this album also won her the 2022 Brit award for Best New Artist. She now has 6 studio albums and continues to be a driving force and growing name for young, black, female musicians. Outside of her flourishing music career, Ajikawo has starred in the Netflix series Top Boy and has also appeared in film Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021). As well as this, in her 2019 album Grey Area, she took on the role of self-shooting the album artwork after enjoying taking photos cataloguing her life during tour. (Vogue, 2019)

One of Little Simz's photographs for her Grey Area album.

Early Life

Ajikawo was born in Islington, London to Nigerian parents where she later attended Highbury Fields School and St Marys Youth Club where she first recorded music. (Brandon, A. (2025, 2 March) Little Simz facts. KISS, Hello Rayo.)

She was raised on a council estate and has two older sisters. She has often spoken about the challenges she faced as a young black woman emerging into the creative industry however, she has worked hard from an early age and has thrived after doing so. During her speech after winning her Brit award she said “I want to say anyone who is watching this at home, I am living proof that if you work hard at something, no matter where you come from, no matter your background, no matter your race, you can do something extraordinary. This is for all the kids dreaming, keep dreaming, keep pushing, I am you and you are me. Blessings, thank you so much.” (Morgan, L. (2022) Little Simz bringing her mum on stage during her Brit Awards acceptance speech is everything. Glamour UK.)

I'm Trying To Love Myself Holistically”: Little Simz Is Stepping Into Her Power | British Vogue

Career

Little Simz started her music journey in the early 2010s when she

released a series of mixtapes and EPs which established her voice within the UK hip-hop scene. It has always appeared important to her to be a part of the whole process with her music releases- from releasing her debut studio album through her own label, Age 101 Music to later on self- shooting the album imagery for her 2019 album Grey Area. This creative independence, direction and ambition speaks volumes about her work ethic.

Grey Area Album

Grey Area was a huge turning point for Simz’s career. The album reflects the confusing stage of life she is at and is praised for the raw emotion shown through the lyricism. This album shows a new confidence that hasn’t necessarily been fully experienced in her previous 2 albums, another reason why this album is regarded as a turning point for her in her life in general as well as her career as she states in an interview with Afropunk at this time she was “peeling back the layers” of herself. (Shutti, G, 2019 Creation from confusion: Little Simz embraces “Grey Area”. AFROPUNK.)

On top of this, as previously mentioned, alongside the rawness of the lyrics, the untraditional creative decision to self-shoot the album imagery goes along perfectly with the album even though it goes against the music- industry aesthetics the photos are deliberately raw and unrefined. From the choice of using only black and white imagery to the unpolished, grainy compositions echo the emotional uncertainty. Its clear that she aimed to show vulnerability over perfection again making her such a strong role model for others in her field, especially her younger audience. (Vogue, 2019)

Written Argument- Little Simz

Case Study: Grey Area Album

I believe Little Simz is a significant figure within the context of this module as a multidisciplinary creative, with her practice extending beyond music into photography and elements of graphic design alongside. She has challenged traditions and creative hierarchies within the art industry by taking control and directing multiple elements and production of her work instead of having a sole focus or handing the job over to someone else which is something we rarely see- giving a continuous, flowing feel to the whole album. On top of this she is navigating her way as a young, black, female artist, making her significant yet underrepresented, particularly in relation to visual authorship.

As previously stated, in the music industry, we don’t often see the artist acting as the photographer/ graphic designer themselves. Normally this job is handed to designers, creative directors etc. The divide between the 2 can create a power hierarchy where creative direction can be removed from the actual artist, potentially taking away from the tone of the album. For example, Rihanna’s album imagery has been produced from established photographers and creative directors separating her as the subject rather than image-maker. In contrast, Little Simz decided to shoot the album imagery for third album Grey Area herself after developing a passion for it during a previous tour. She liked the personal side she could show through her photography that could document her life almost like a diary with no pressure or expectations (Vogue,2019). This has clearly continued to be important to her, as we can see the imagery still takes on an intimate, authentic feeling it is refreshing to see a challenge to usual industry aesthetic but actually it works perfectly for this particular album, reinforcing its emotional honesty we see throughout the lyrics.

I find the Grey Area imagery particularly effective due to how restrained it feels visually. The choice of black and white photography suggests Simz wants us to just focus on the imagery and not be met with the potential distraction that coloured imagery and editing may bring, allowing us to focus on atmosphere and texture. The photos aren’t there to impress, infact they are often grainy and imperfect, but they are instead to reflect and relate to the raw emotion in the album’s themes and lyricism which present ideas about uncertainty and transition (Shutti, G, 2019 Creation from confusion: Little Simz embraces “Grey Area”. AFROPUNK.)

The unpolished finish of the images really stands out against typical music-industry visuals and standards. Instead of aiming for high production value, the imagery feels intentionally understated, however, again, this feels like a deliberate creative decision that Little Simz has made. In my opinion this decision to self- direct the photoshoot as someone who is just begin their photography journey is so brave and one that some may think would usually weaken the work, however, for me, it actually does the opposite and strengthens it as we can see the honesty and rawness coming through the images. Again, for Little Simz to do this, it feels more important as it is often seen to be an expectation for black woman to present themselves in a particular way within pop culture.

Furthermore, the visual approach aligns closely with the lyricism of the album, with many of the songs exploring self- reflection and emotional vulnerability. The stillness and shadows we see in the album imagery echoes these feelings leaving us with a sense of ambiguity which I also felt when listening to the album. (Shutti, G, 2019 Creation from confusion: Little Simz embraces “Grey Area”. AFROPUNK.)

Little Simz on Her Burgeoning Photography Practice | Vogue

In conclusion, I believe Little Simz’s significance lies in her ability to disrupt creative hierarchies and industry expectations by taking direction and reclaiming visual authorship, using imperfection and emotional vulnerability as strengths, and positioning herself as an underrepresented yet influential voice within contemporary arts and graphic design practices.