Review Summary: Little Simz takes a well-earned breather with a bite-sized EP that is more content with getting you to shake your butt than drop your jaw with her rapping prowess.
It’s a shame that
Drop 7 is coming out in 2024 and not 2022, the year that we got Beyonce’s tepid
Renaissance and Drake’s appropriately-titled
Honestly, Nevermind because the side-by-side comparisons would really illustrate the power level that Little Simz is operating at. Where Beyonce sounded at odds against her dancey production and Drake seeming more like some misguided Lil Dicky-esque joke on his, Little Simz is completely at ease over this collection of aspirational club bangers. The key to success that those other projects lacked is Simbi’s understanding that the production needs to be the star when it comes to shaking booties. On “SOS”, she’s barely there and sounds more like MIA than ever before, instead letting a hypnotic afrobeat ebb and flow around a dancing, menacing panflute. Opener “Mood Swings” lives up to its name by oscillating between an airy percussive flow and metallic, all-hell breaking loose with Simz magically switching from a whisper-talk to brash and confident rap to match. At nearly two-and-a-half minutes, it’s one of the more meaty songs on this quick little fifteen minute EP, and opens so strongly that it could easily serve as the entrance of a more considered and fleshed-out project.
Still,
Drop 7 is a remarkably well-put together thought experiment that overachieves its modest aims and runtime. Its eclectic mix of house, afrobeat, break, and house is inspired enough on its own, but truly shines with Simz’ athletic ability to play chameleon for whatever the moment calls for. While there aren’t any truly monumental bars here, her flows -especially on the appropriately fiery “Torch” and the delirious “I Ain’t Feeling It” are clear signifiers of her technical ability for the two people in the world who may still doubt. There’s not enough here to latch onto the same way that one with Little Simz’ growing, impressive discography, but
Drop 7 is a well-earned victory lap and experiment from one of the best rappers in the game.
With my words like butter, motherfucker, I'm the smoothest
Gotta keep my circle tight, I'm only rollin' with the fewest
