''Sometimes I Might Be Introvert'' is the fourth
studio album by British rapper
Little Simz
Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British rapper, singer and actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums; ''A Curious Tale ...
, released on 3 September 2021 by
Age 101 Music and
AWAL
AWAL (an initialism of Artists Without a Label) is a British music distribution company owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The company serves as an alternative to the traditional music label deal, offering deal structures to artists and independ ...
. The album succeeds the
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
-nominated album ''
Grey Area
Grey area or gray area may refer to a fuzzy border between two states, such as legal and illegal actions. It may also refer to:
* ''Grey Area'' (album), a 2019 album by Little Simz
* Grey Area (gallery), an art project in Paris
* ''Grey Area'' ...
'', released in 2019, and the five-track EP, ''
Drop 6'' (2020). It is supported by five singles: "Introvert", "
Woman
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
", "Rollin Stone", "I Love You, I Hate You" and "Point and Kill". The album is produced by frequent collaborator
Inflo
Dean Josiah Cover, professionally known as Inflo, is an English record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He helms the R&B music collective project Sault, which foregrounds black-centric issues.
Career
In 2014, British rock band ...
, and includes guest appearances from
Cleo Sol
Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic (born 24 March 1991), better known by her stage name Cleo Sol, is a British singer-songwriter. Working closely with the producer Inflo, she has released two solo studio albums, ''Rose in the Dark'' (2020) and ''Mother'' ...
and
Obongjayar. The album received critical acclaim and was named the best album of 2021 by ''
Exclaim!'' and ''
BBC Radio 6 Music
BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...
''. It won the 2022 Mercury Prize on 18 October 2022. It also won the
Libera Award for Best Hip-Hop/Rap Record and was nominated for the
Brit Award for British Album of the Year
The Brit Award for British Album of the Year is given annually by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of ...
. ''Sometimes I Might Be Introvert'' was included in ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''s ranking of the 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time.
Title and concept
The album title is a
backronym
A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
of Simbi, which is part of Simz's full first name, Simbiatu. Speaking on the album title to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Little Simz commented: "I'm just very to myself and I didn't know how to really navigate that, especially coming in this industry where you're expected to have this extroverted persona all the time. I wanted to just let people know like, yo, I'm actually this way inclined
€¦When it comes to business and my work, I'm not shy at all, I don't hold back with that. I'm very serious and direct, but other stuff sometimes."
Thematically, ''Sometimes I Might Be Introvert'' is about Simz "being this introverted person that has all these crazy thoughts and ideas and theories in my head and not always feeling like I’m able to express it if it’s not through my art."
Release and promotion
Little Simz announced the album's title, cover art, release date, and preorder on 21 April 2021.
The first single, "Introvert", was released alongside its music video on 21 April 2021. The second single, "
Woman
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
" featuring
Cleo Sol
Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic (born 24 March 1991), better known by her stage name Cleo Sol, is a British singer-songwriter. Working closely with the producer Inflo, she has released two solo studio albums, ''Rose in the Dark'' (2020) and ''Mother'' ...
, was released on 6 May 2021 with a music video directed by Little Simz. The track "Rollin Stone" was released as the third single on 14 June 2021, followed by "I Love You, I Hate You" as the fourth single on 8 July 2021. A fifth single, "Point and Kill" featuring
Obongjayar, was released on 1 September 2021, followed by a music video.
An accompanying European tour was announced on 28 May 2021, scheduled for winter 2021 and early 2022.
Chart performance
The album debuted at number four on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
, becoming her highest charting album and first top forty. The album was the
biggest selling album in independent record shops the week of its release.
Critical reception
The album received widespread acclaim from critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
score of 88, based on 24 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
In the review for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
Timothy Monger compared the album favourably to its predecessor; "As on ''
Grey Area
Grey area or gray area may refer to a fuzzy border between two states, such as legal and illegal actions. It may also refer to:
* ''Grey Area'' (album), a 2019 album by Little Simz
* Grey Area (gallery), an art project in Paris
* ''Grey Area'' ...
'', there are no dry spells or dips in quality, just a master class in modern songwriting with heaps of poise and a beating, soulful heart."
Lee Wakefield for ''
Clash'' wrote that ''Sometimes I Might Be Introvert'' makes for "addictive listening", adding that "the cinematic flourishes are cranked up and Simz is more confessional than ever, pondering what defines her as both Little Simz the artist and Simbi the person."
''
Uncut
Uncut may refer to:
* ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship
* ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997
* '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' concluded it was "an even more ambitious conceptual album that finds her sharing her insecurities, praising her heroes and going on a fairytale voyage over 19 tracks."
Writing for ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', Helen Brown described it as "the most thrilling album of the year", praising the "Bond theme-level orchestration" in the production and Little Simz's lyricism. Rachel Aroesti, writing for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', concluded ''Sometimes I Might Be Introvert'' "may or may not provide a commercial boost for its maker, but this rich, fascinating album cements Little Simz’s significance regardless."
''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' noted that Little Simz "once again showcases her vulnerability, opening up old wounds from relationships with her father, a past lover, and, ultimately, herself."
PJ Somerville from ''
The Line of Best Fit
''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music.
It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...
'' commented that "Talking family, trauma, the industry and her peers, ''Sometimes I Might Be Introvert'' is tactical, theatrical, and is the product of 100,000 hours spent honing her craft resulting in a body of work with heart, and its head firmly on its shoulders."
Granting the record Album of the Week, James Rettig for ''
Stereogum'' declared ''Sometimes I Might Be Introvert'' as Simz's "most personal album yet but also her most removed, in the sense that it’s cinematic and surreal and overwhelming", praising the subject matter and "sweeping orchestral" production.
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
' John Amen praised the album, writing that Simz "moves from stream-of-consciousness confessions to epigrammatic observations, volatile rants to equanimous self-examinations, and personal confessions to broad societal diagnoses."
Accolades
Track listing
Notes
* "Introvert" and the five interludes feature additional vocals by
Emma Corrin
Emma-Louise Corrin (born 13 December 1995) is an English actor. They portrayed Diana, Princess of Wales in the fourth season of the Netflix historical drama ''The Crown'' (2020), for which they won a Golden Globe, a Critics' Choice Award, ...
* "Introvert" and "I See You" feature additional vocals by Cleo Sol
Sample credits
* "Two Worlds Apart" contains samples of "The Agony and the Ecstasy", written and performed by
Smokey Robinson
Personnel
Musicians
*
Little Simz
Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British rapper, singer and actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums; ''A Curious Tale ...
– primary artist
*
Cleo Sol
Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic (born 24 March 1991), better known by her stage name Cleo Sol, is a British singer-songwriter. Working closely with the producer Inflo, she has released two solo studio albums, ''Rose in the Dark'' (2020) and ''Mother'' ...
– featured artist
*
Obongjayar – featured artist
*
Inflo
Dean Josiah Cover, professionally known as Inflo, is an English record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He helms the R&B music collective project Sault, which foregrounds black-centric issues.
Career
In 2014, British rock band ...
– production
* Jakwob – production
* Miles James – production
*
Emma Corrin
Emma-Louise Corrin (born 13 December 1995) is an English actor. They portrayed Diana, Princess of Wales in the fourth season of the Netflix historical drama ''The Crown'' (2020), for which they won a Golden Globe, a Critics' Choice Award, ...
– additional vocals
* Rosie Danvers – orchestral arrangements
* Graham Godfrey - percussion
* Caroline Adeyemi – vocals
* Paul Boldeau – vocals
* Phebe Edwards – vocals
* Patrick Linton – vocals
* Desrinea Ramus – vocals
* Olivia Williams – vocals
* Qudus Adidas St. Patrick – vocals
Technical
* Matt Colton – mastering
* Ben Baptie – engineering, mixing
* Richard Woodcraft – engineering, mixing
* Jeremy Cole – creative direction, artwork
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2021 albums
Little Simz albums
Age 101 Music albums
AWAL albums
Mercury Prize-winning albums
Albums produced by Inflo