Little Simz Announces New Album ‘Lotus,’ Shares New Single ‘Flood’

Little Simz is back. The musician has announced her sixth studio album Lotus, scheduled for release on May 9 as her first full-length LP since 2022’s No Thank You.

Simz is entering this album cycle with a cleanse with its first single “Flood,” a brooding record that features Obongjayar and Moonchild Sanelly. The song arrives alongside a black and white video directed by Salomon Ligthelm. Rain pours down throughout the clip, which features appearances from nearly a dozen performers as prayer leaders, mysterious figures, and matadors.

“Setting the tone for May 9th. Embodying my artistry in the truest form with the first visuals for this new season. Run that up,” Simz wrote on Instagram.

“When I was looking into it, lotuses are, I think, one of the only plants that thrive in muddy waters, which I thought that was really interesting,” the musician told BBC Radio One’s Jack Saunders. “That could be a metaphor for anything, no matter where you kind of come from or what you’ve been through, you can do something extraordinary. You can do amazing things and that picture can be beautiful for you. At the time I was making a record, it was a difficult, challenging, strenuous time, but I guess I was able to take that and make art with it which is the beautiful thing.”

Speaking more specifically about Lotus, Simz added: “I think I’ve always just made records that feel super personal. I write from a very introspective place, always have done. This is just a representation of where I’m at with experimenting with new sounds, pushing my pen, nice collaborations, all of that good stuff.”