Background and career
Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is an English rapper and actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums: A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons (2015), Stillness in Wonderland (2016) and Grey Area (2019), the last of which was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize and won the awards for Best Album at both the Ivor Novello Awards and the NME Awards. Her fourth album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (2021), received widespread critical acclaim, with several publications deeming it the best album of 2021. It won the 2022 Mercury Prize, and earned her the 2022 Brit Award for Best New Artist and the Libera Award for Best Hip-Hop/Rap Record. Her fifth album, No Thank You (2022), was released to critical acclaim. In 2024, she was featured on the single "We Pray" by Coldplay, alongside Burna Boy, Elyanna, and Tini. Her sixth studio album, Lotus, was released on 6 June 2025. Outside of music, Ajikawo has starred in the Netflix revival drama series Top Boy. She also appeared as herself in the film Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021).
Ajikawo was born in Islington, London, to Nigerian parents. She was raised on a council estate with two older sisters. Her mother was also a foster carer during her childhood. She is ethnically Yoruba. She studied at Highbury Fields School in London and also attended St Mary's Youth Club in Upper Street, Islington, with pop stars Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke. Ajikawo has credited Mary's Youth Club for its influence on her career, describing it as "the place where it all began for me … a second home". Ajikawo later studied at Westminster Kingsway College and The University of West London where she pursued her music career.
Ajikawo has performed at Rising Tide, iluvlive, Industry Takeover (Urban Development) Hackney Empire, Somerset House and the House of Lords. She also performed at the BBC 1Xtra Prom 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, alongside a full orchestra led by Jules Buckley. Ajikawo can be heard on the Leave to Remain film soundtrack, performing the song "Leave It As That". In early 2013, she appeared on BBC Radio 1Xtra to discuss her performance at the Hackney Weekend. Ajikawo went on to do a Maida Vale session for Huw Stephens. She released her debut studio album, A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons, on 18 September 2015. She was given the opportunity to tour with Nas, Lauryn Hill, and Kehlani in 2016. In April 2016, Little Simz became the first UK rapper to be named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe list. She subsequently participated in the Forbes Under 30 Summit EMEA in Jerusalem and performed at the Israel Museum. On 12 December 2016, Little Simz released the lead single to her upcoming album, "Poison Ivy". Just two days later, Simz released the album's second single, "Picture Perfect". On 16 December 2016, Simz released her sophomore full-length studio album, Stillness in Wonderland, alongside its comic-book companion, Welcome to Wonderland. In 2017, she performed as the opening act for Gorillaz during their Humanz Tour, and was the vocalist for the song "Garage Palace", featured on the Super Deluxe edition of their album Humanz. On 11 May 2017, Simz released "Backseat". On 11 October 2017, she released "Good For What", before releasing the deluxe edition to her aforementioned album on 3 November 2017.
Ajikawo releases her music on her own Age 101 Music record label with an exclusive distribution licensing arrangement with AWAL Recordings. On 6 September 2018, Ajikawo and her label AGE 101 signed a worldwide deal with AWAL Recordings, after AWAL had distributed her debut album "A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons" in 2015. This deal was renewed on 18 June 2020.On 17 September 2018, Simz released "Offence" as the lead single to her upcoming studio album, Grey Area. The album's second single, "Boss" was released on 23 September 2018. The album's third single, "101 FM" was released on 4 December 2018. The album's final single, assisted by Cleo Sol, was released on 16 January 2019, alongside the album's announcement. Grey Area was released to critical success and was nominated for the Mercury Prize, and IMPALA's European Independent Album of the Year Award (2019). On 6 May 2020, while in quarantine, Simz released her tenth extended play, Drop 6. Simz announced the title, cover, release date, and pre-order for her fourth full-length studio album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert on 21 April 2021. The album's lead single, "Introvert" was released alongside the announcement. The album's second single, "Woman", assisted by Cleo Sol, was released on 6 May 2021. The album's third single, "Rollin Stone" was released on 14 June 2021. The album's fourth single, "I Love You, I Hate You" was released on 8 July 2021. The album's fifth and final single, "Point and Kill" was released on 1 September 2021, just two days prior to the release of the album. On 3 September 2021, she released her fourth studio album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert debuting at number 4 on the UK album charts and winning BBC 6's Album of the Year. The album would also give Simz her first Mercury Prize win in October 2022.
On 6 December 2022, Ajikawo announced her fifth studio album, No Thank You. Once again produced by Inflo, the album found her speaking out about the rap industry on songs such as "X" while exploring themes of mental health in Black communities on songs such as "Broken". The album was released on 12 December 2022 and was well received. Ajikawo performed her song "Heart On Fire" with Joan Armatrading during the 76th British Academy Film Awards ceremony, held on 19 February 2023. In February 2024, Ajikawo announced Drop 7, her 11th extended play. The project saw a shift to an electronic dance sound and was released on 9 February 2024.
At 2024's Glastonbury, on the night of Saturday 29 June 2024, she performed the penultimate act on the Pyramid Stage. Her performance received rave reviews. On the same day, she was invited by British rock band Coldplay to perform the song "We Pray". The single was released on 12 August 2024, featuring Burna Boy, Elyanna and Tini, and is part of Coldplay's studio album Moon Music. On 26 February 2025, Ajikawo announced her sixth studio album, Lotus, which was slated for release on 9 May 2025. She delayed the album to 6 June 2025 due to scheduling conflicts with a film. Ajikawo's extended play Sugar Girl released on 8 May 2026.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
