Rapper and actor, 28, wins for her fourth album after critical acclaim and a decade as a performer
Little Simz has won the 2022 Mercury prize for her fourth album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. The 28-year-old north London rapper and actor was the only second-time nominee in a field of artists otherwise up for their first Mercury; she was previously nominated for her third album, Grey Area, in 2019.
Accepting the award at London’s Eventim Apollo on Tuesday night, Simz, born Simbiatu Ajikawo, initially stood speechless. “Wow. I’m very very overwhelmed, I’m very grateful,” she said. “Glory to God – God thank you so much; to my family over here, my loved ones right here. I wanna say a huge thank you to the Mercury for this incredible, incredible prize. I wanna say a thank you to my brother and close collaborator [producer] Inflo – Flo [has] known me since I was so young, he’s stuck by me, we created this album together. There was times in the studio I didn’t know if I was gonna finish this record, I was going through all the emotions … he stuck by me.”