Little Simz has won the 2022 Mercury Prize for her album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. Crowning the top album released in the UK, the Mercury Prize is arguably the most distinguished music award in the UK and this is a triumphant win for Simz’s impactful fourth album.
While Simz won Best New Artist at the 2022 BRIT Awards earlier this year, the Mercury Prize brings a whole new level of accomplishment for the London rapper and multidisciplinary artist born Simbiatu Abisola Abiola Ajikawo. This would seem to be an especially momentous award for Simz, considering she had to cancel her US tour this year citing the “mental stress” caused by tour finances.
“Wow. I’m very very overwhelmed, I’m very grateful,” an emotional Simz told the exuberant crowd. “Glory to God – God thank you so much. To my family over here, my loved ones right here in the center. I wanna say a huge thank you to the Mercury for this incredible, incredible prize.”
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert beat out a decorated field which included Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, Wet Leg’s self-titled debut, and Kojey Radical’s Reason To Smile, among others. “We all changed people’s lives with our music and that’s the most important thing. This is for us really,” Simz said to her fellow nominees.
Primarily produced by Inflo (Adele, Michael Kiwanuka, Jungle), this marked the second album that Inflo produced to win the MercuryPrize along with Michael Kiwanuka’s Kiwanuka, in 2020. Simz praised her collaborator later in her speech. “I wanna say a thank you to my brother and close collaborator [producer] Inflo – Flo is someone who’s known me since I was so young, he’s stuck by me, we created this album together,” she said.” There was times in the studio I didn’t know if I was gonna finish this record, I was feeling through all the emotions and really going through it and he stuck by me and pushed me to deliver this album for you guys.”
An independent release via Age 101 Music and AWAL, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert follows last year’s likewise independent winner, Collapsed In Sunbeams by Arlo Parks.
Watch Little Simz’s acceptance speech at the 2022 Mercury Prize Awards ceremony above.
