GREY Area

This album is so good. The production is stellar, Little Simz is a great rapper, I should listen to more of her. I loved this.

Track one opens with a bold jazz sound that I dig a lot more than I imagine I will the vocals. Not a fan of English rap in general, but so far this is alright. Enjoying through track 2, Simz cleverly avoids the drill style that she could easily fall into and instead opts for a more classical hiphop sound. It's a little Minajy but with the pop elements stripped away to leave something rawer and less produced. Good - Boss, 101FM, Venom Bad - None really. Art - It's stark, the face and sit coupled with the trainers in the background make a nice impact.

Average+ rap. I liked the tone of her voice and the cockneyesque accent. I didn’t like excessive use of questionable language. The song “Selfish” was a highlight. 3.5 and rounding down.

2019 is shockinglu recent. A part of me feels albums should take more time to digest before making this, but i'm trying to shake that off. This feels really different and is clearly worth putting on the list. Strong 4.5 for me - really impressed with how concise the album is while still being a powerhouse.

Bueno. No creo que tenga suficiente peso aún para estar dentro de este listado. Le falta legado.

Hip hop

Lovely, minnir mig aðeins á Gil Scott Heron

Really enjoyed especially Venom

Didn’t hate it but it’s not my thing. Liked her voice and the song with Michael Kiwanuka

Really liked this one especially Flowers

Es gefiel mir besser als Kendrick, aber man darf keine halben Sterne vergeben.

This Little Simz album from 2019 was added as part of the newest update to 1001 albums (circa 2021). While not the newest album on the list, it is still fresh enough that it's quite bold to put it down in the list of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Regardless, Little Simz is a rapper I'm already familiar with, having released the fantastic Sometimes I Might Be Introvert in 2021 (which could very well be album of the year for me). Truly, I have few qualms about this being added to the list. Simz hits hard with her rhymes, switching up her flow and vocal styling to keep you engaged. Simz is accompanied by production from Inflo, who brings beats and structure to the songs that are unlike anything else right now. Genuinely incredible. Compared to her follow-up, I think I still prefer SIMBI for the satisfying framing and continued pushing of boundaries, but this is still a great album through and through.

lol this was the musical equivalent of those memes trashy people share on Facebook when they don't want to admit they're bottom feeders, and think everyone around them is the problem, holding them down. Just a whole heap of mindless "street philosophy" about removing toxic people from your life and being true to yourself. SPARE ME. 1/5.

Will listen again. 3.5

Little Simz is the next big thing in hio hop. This record and 2021's "Sometimes I Might Be Introvert" are definite proof

Ble

Solid British rapping, but I could do without the sung bits.

catchy, layered, and pretty brilliant

Not my main style, but it was good. I particularly liked the last three tracks on the album- Therapy, Sherbert Sunset, and Flowers- as well as Wounds.

Anyone who is friends with Michael Kiwanuka is a friend of mine. This is the rap I’m here for

Wow! This is great! Low key beats and awesome flow. Love the accent on the raps.

Liked this more than I thought I would. I liked the fusion of rap and hip hop with some Rasta sounds and motifs. Very interesting album.

wouldn't listen to again due to the explicit lyrics, but musically interesting

I was expecting to skip this. It was better then i was expecting. I'm not into British hip hop, modern hip hop, people with little in their names. This wasn't bad. I'm not sure I'd listen again but i didn't hate it.

I don't think there was anything in this that I liked

Fun British rap

Interesting enough

Very cool British hip-hop album. I enjoy her vocals and flow quite a bit. No complaints.

Great album. Been meaning to listen to this for a while. Didn't disappoint.

Production sounds good but this isn’t my jam.

Not really my vibe, but I can understand where this gets some respect

Most of the beats are really nice, and the production is really clean too. That's about all that salvages a 3 for me. I just finished it and already can't really remember or differentiate any of the songs. Just "edgy" lyrics in an unconventional delivery with an accent. I'm sure there's probably some good content in there but I didn't catch it the first time through and won't bother to try again.

3. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of backing music and beats, made it an enjoyable listen. The first track had almost an industrial synth backing which grabbed my attention.

It's...okay. She has talent, but it's not quite what I'm feeling when it comes to rap.

I like her. Has a Guy Ritchie vibe. She could easily score any Ritchie or Soderburgh movie. Selfish is a beauty of a track. Wounds sounds like an Eminem track. VENOM! So much being said there. I need to revisit that one. This was a true project. Tons of work, talent, hooks, beats, all of it. If you're going to make a hip hop record today, this is required listening.

meh

Pretty sick rap album. Great, gritty beats and intense stylistic rapping. I dig it.

Someone’s having a rage year- full of anger and frustration. Listened through this short album twice, and really liked it.

Powerful beats, lyrics.

I am really impressed at Little Simz' skill here. She has a lyrical deftness, a flow and capability I do not regularly hear. The brevity of the album is also a big factor here. A lot of rap albums have so much filler, skits and interludes that just... ugh. It makes it difficult for me to want to come back to the album and do a complete re-listen. Hearing the "n-word" so often I did start to tune it out. It is tough to hear in people's albums nowadays. Definitely a nice change of pace album for me. I really enjoyed this and the showcase of her skill as well as how the MC really compliments her.

Damn, nice surprise here. I've never heard of her but Little Simz (and her team?) is talented. Really good lyrics/wordplay on a bunch of tracks (Offence, Venom...despite copious use of the p word, Pressure, Sherbet Sunset) and she can rap (Missy Elliott fast). Great bass lines and beats on the first two tracks (I could listen to Boss over and over) and some of the later ones (101 FM, Therapy). Tight album. Gonna have to listen to more of her music.

This album came up on the list as I was discovering Little Simz through her newest album, "Sometimes I Might Be Introvert." I already knew from repeated listens of that album that I liked her as an artist. GREY Area grooves just as well. It's perhaps a little more aggressive than its follow-up. It does stay strong from start to finish though. Boss has an amazing beat and I love the keyboards at the end of the track. She has amazing wordplay on all of the tracks and both the words and the beats stay with you long after the album is over. Apart from Boss I'd say my favorites are Wounds, Venom, Therapy and Sherbet Sunset.

First listen. Never heard of him before. Not for me.

5 stars. This album was great. Catchy, interesting and creative

First time that I heard it, it didn't impress me that much. However repeated listens showed me how brilliant this record is. Her rhyme schemes work masterfully with the laidback yet creative production.

Not for me.

Nothing great, boring to OK at best.

Great with some hard hitting lyrics, will listen to again

Nice hip hop

… it’s eh 101 FM was a cool song, I liked the production for the album but i’ll die before I call a mf brit a “good rapper” I have a deep hatred for those wankers that think they can rap so honestly i’m kind of on chaotic ends in this album, great beats, terrible vocals/rap I’ll give it a 4/10

Great stuff

Far better than I expected despite not really being my genre.