Little Simz – Lotus (Electric Pink Coloured Vinyl)

Lotus, released in June 2025, is Little Simz’s sixth studio album and a striking reinvention. It marks her first major project without longtime producer Inflo, following a public financial dispute that led her to scrap earlier material and start anew with producer Miles Clinton James. The result is a deeply personal, genre-blurring record that channels hip-hop, jazz, punk, and funk into a cohesive, emotionally charged narrative.

The album’s title draws on the symbolism of the lotus flower — blooming from muddy waters — and that metaphor runs through the entire record. Simz explores themes of betrayal, grief, resilience, and rebirth, often with a rawness that feels like she’s peeling back layers of armor. Tracks like “Flood” and “Free” pulse with urgency, while “Peace” and “Blue” (featuring Moses Sumney and Sampha, respectively) offer moments of introspective calm. The title track, with Michael Kiwanuka and Yussef Dayes, is a standout — a lush, meditative centerpiece that anchors the album’s emotional arc.

Sonically, Lotus is rich and unpredictable. Simz experiments with new textures and collaborators, including Obongjayar, Moonchild Sanelly, Miraa May, and Yukimi Nagano. Her lyricism remains razor-sharp, but there’s a looseness to her flow — a willingness to sit in discomfort, to let the music breathe.

Critics have hailed it as a career-defining work: not just a break from the past, but a full flowering of Simz’s artistic independence.