Manny Norte and Amplify Dot Announced As Hosts of The Rated Awards, Little Simz Confirmed to Perform

Previously announced to be performing at the awards are Kano, Ghetts and Bonkaz - and now Little Simz has been added to the line-up too! After a hugely successful past 12 months, which has included being tipped as 'the illest doing it right now', by none of than Kendrick Lamar, Simz is an incredibly exciting addition to the line-up.

Capital Xtra DJ, Manny Norte and Radio 1Xtra's Amplify Dot will be hosting the first ever Rated Awards to be held next week on Thursday 17th September. There is also set to be a number of other surprise guests on the night.

JME leads  the way with nominations in four categories, whilst rappers Krept & Konan are close behind with three nods. Head over to www.ratedawards.com to find out who's nominated for what and to cast your vote.

Little Simz Unveils Highly Anticipated Debut EP ‘E.D.G.E’

Small in stature, but big in bars! Little Simz has unveiled her highly anticipated debut EP ‘E.D.G.E’, and it sounds good!

The EP, an acronym for Every Day Gets Easier, follows the release of her fourth mixtape Blank Canvas, which was premiered on Jay Z's Life+Times in September 2013. 

Simz has already released a few tracks off the EP, with ‘Mandarin Oranges Part 2’ premiered during her BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale session, being the first. Making her one of the first unsigned rapper to do a BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale session before releasing an official single.

The 20-year-old North London rapper went on to releasing ‘Bars Simzson’, ‘Enter The Void’ and ‘The Hamptons’ as well as her newest release ‘Quest Luv’ featuring her fellow SPACE AGE member - Tilla.

Little Simz is breaking all boundaries and is bringing the heat with her bars, keeping fans and other rappers on their tippy-toes.

‘E.D.G.E’ sees production from the likes of Sango, Iman Omari, Jakwob, Balistiq, High Frequency, El Blanco Nino and OTG as well as keeping in the family, the EP features guests vocals from her SPACE AGE collective Josh Acre, Tilla and Chuck20.

Simz is cementing herself as a sure-fire rap sensation with a grand master plan, world domination. Stream, download and enjoy the 13-track-EP below, and check why it was worth the wait.

‘E.D.G.E’ EP Tracklist

Desire ft. Jimi Nxir (prod. Jimi Nxir)

Enter The Void (prod. Balistiq)

On The Edge (prod. OTG)

Devour (prod. Jakwob)

E.D.G.E ft. Josh Acré & Chuck20 / Age 101 (prod. OTG)

Saur-Renity Rap-Tiles (prod. Sango)

Quest Luv ft. Tilla (prod. OTG)

Stay (prod. Iman Omari)

The Hamptons (prod. Da-P)

Mandarin Oranges Part 2 (prod. Sango x El Blanco Nino)

Time Travels ft. Tilla, Chuck20 x Josh Acré (prod. High Frequency)

Bonus Tracks

Bars Simzson (prod. Hank Iving)

Madarin Oranges ft. Waldo (prod. Sango

Download ‘E.D.G.E’ EP here: http://littlesimz.bandcamp.com/album/e-d-g-e and hear Simz' greatness!

New Music: Little Simz - Quest Luv ft. Tilla

Whoever doubted Little Simz lyrical ability must be choking on their words now - this girl is talented. As she gets ready for the release of her forthcoming EP ‘E.D.G.E’ this Wednesday, Simz has unveiled ‘Quest Luv’.

‘Quest Luv’ follows the video release of her Simpsons inspired visual for ‘Bars Simzson’ and features vocals from her fellow Space Age member, Tilla with production from OTG. 

The never before heard track from ‘Every Day Gets Easier’ (the EP's acronym) is another track that boasts of Simz ability to rap over any instrumental and hold it on bar for bar. Keeping the listeners engaged throughout, Simz raps about a love that you cannot borrow, to a mystery guy - leaving us in suspect as to who she's talking about, or whether just solely rapping for the everyday female going through exactly what she raps about.

‘Quest Luv’ features production from the likes of Sango, Jakwob, High Frequency, OTG along with appearances from her SPACE AGE collective and some surprise guests. The EP will also be supported with a series of live dates and festival appearances around the world starting with this Wednesday at the Shacklewell Arms in Dalston.

Upcoming Live Dates

June 18 - ‘E.D.G.E’ Launch Show @ The Shacklewell Arms, Dalston, London *SOLD OUT*

June 21 - Camden Crawl @ Beatrice, Camden, London http://thecamdencrawl.com/line-up/artists/little-simz

June 29 - Glastonbury 2014

July 2 - ‘E.D.G.E’ Launch @ AKA STHLM, F12 Terrassen, Stockholm, Sweden

August 23 + 24 - Reading and Leeds Festival: http://www.seetickets.com/content/reading-leeds?src=randl2014AD204

Event: iLUVLIVE 10th Birthday with Naughty Boy, Emeli Sandé, Rough Copy, Jacob Banks & More! + COMPETITION!

*Competition closed! Congratulations to Chandice Bailey on winning TWO tickets to the show on Monday*

It's always exciting to see or hear about what the good people over at ILUVLIVE are up to, and on June 16th they're celebrating their ten years as the UK's leading home grown live music event.

To celebrate Naughty Boy and Emeli Sandé are back to perform some of their favourite tracks together. Emeli has taken to the ILUVLIVE stage twice before she got signed and was where she had first met Naughty Boy, which secured both of their futures. Speaking on ILUVLIVE, Emeli said: "iluvlive was a great opportunity for me. It's where I met Naughty Boy which led me to featuring on tracks with artists like Chip and Wiley."

The night will see support from some of the UK's hottest emerging acts such as Rough Copy, Stylo G, Ghetts, Jacob Banks, Blizzard, Tanika plus special guests. With the night ending with a thirty minute live jam session with the infamous ILUVLIVE house band and will see the likes of Terri Walker, GFrsh, Little Simz, Jamie Joseph, Lady Leshurr, Lady Lykez, Nick Brewer, Moelogo and still more to be announced surprise guests.

Sounds like a night NOT to be missed! And to make it even more exciting, I'll be running a competition giving away TWO tickets to ONE lucky person, further details about the competition and the event can be seen below.

ILUVLIVE 10th Birthday Event details

Venue: Electric Brixton, Town Hall Parade, Brixton, London SW2 1RJ

Date: Monday, 16 June, 2014

Time: 7pm - 11.30pm

Host/DJ's - Ras Kwame (Capital Xtra) / Twin B (BBC 1Xtra)

Tickets are priced at £10 + bf in advance and can be purchased via the iluvlive.co.uk website or ticketweb.co.uk, seetickets.com

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS AN OVER 14's EVENT. UNDER 1'S MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT. MAX TWO UNDER 18's PER ADULT.

COMPETITION DETAILS:

Interested in attending the ILUVLIVE event, and want to win a pair of tickets? Simply send an email to: itsjustmobolaji@gmail.com with your full name with the subject line ;ILUVLIVE Competition'. Winner will be picked at random and competition closes on Friday, 13 June, 2014 at 12noon.

Little Simz Unveils ‘Bars Simzson’ Video + Announces ‘E.D.G.E’ EP Release Date

Coming off of touring with ScHoolboy Q on his UK tour alongside Isaiah Rashad, the unstoppable Little Simz has unveiled the visual for ‘Bars Simzson’ - with a high energy ‘The Simpsons’ themed video.

Shot in Los Angeles at Universal Studios, ‘Bars Simzson’ is taken from Simz forthcoming debut EP ‘E.D.G.E’ - the acronym for Every Day Gets Easier, which has officially got a release date for June 16.

Produced by Chicago's very own Hank Iving, ‘Bars Simzson’ is a fan favourite that has tipped people into falling in love with her artistry and delivery, espeically after seeing her perform the hit at ScHoolboy Q concerts.

‘E.D.G.E’ feautres production from the likes of Sango, Jakwob, High Frequency, OTG along with appearances from her SPACE AGE collective and some surprise guests. The EP will also be supported with a series of live dates and festival appearances around the world, some of which are already sold out!

Upcoming Live Dates

June 18 - ‘E.D.G.E’ Launch Show @ The Shacklewell Arms, Dalston, London *SOLD OUT*

June 21 - Camden Crawl @ Beatrice, Camden, London: http://thecamdencrawl.com/line-up/artists/little-simz

June 29 - Glastonbury 2014

July 2 - ‘E.D.G.E’ Launch @ AKA STHLM, F12 Terrassen, Stockholm, Sweden

August 23 + 24 - Reading and Leeds Festival: http://www.seetickets.com/content/reading-leeds?src=randl2014AD204

Peep ‘Bars Simzson’ below!

"I'm a young Steve Jobs, when I get to 21 imma be handing out jobs!"

New Music: Nick Brewer - The Drop ft. Little Simz

As he gears up for the release of his EP ‘Four Miles Further’ this Summer, Nick Brewer continues to fly the UK flag for the rap scene with his new track ‘The Drop’.

Nick features female rapper of the moment Little Simz on the incredible track, the game-changer stays delivering back to back on whatever track she features on and does the same on ‘The Drop’.

‘The Drop’ is the second release since Nick Brewer's signing to Island Records, and is set to make his mark on the music scene this Summer, with the release of his EP ‘Four Miles Further’. The full-length project will see features from the likes of JP Cooper, George The Poet, Max Marshall, Naomi Scott and of course Little Simz.

‘The Drop’ speaks volumes on Nick's opinions on growing up in today's society. Nick raps about his memories of growing up, cementing himself as more than your stereotypical male rapper; a wordsmith with something very poignant to say. With hypnotic production, and an expert verse from Little Simz, this track is sure to be on your mind long after listening.

With his forthcoming ‘Four Miles Further’ EP and a headline show at The Old Queen's Head in Islington on the 26th of June, Nick is about to really set to enter your conscience.

Little Simz: New Music - ‘Enter The Void’ + Announces Debut EP ‘E.D.G.E.’

‘Enter The Void’ is the newest epic record from Little Simz, taken from her debut EP/Pre-Album, ‘E.D.G.E.’.

The new track comes ahead of Simz' debut EP set for a mid-June release shows off her impressive storytelling skills as she cleverly paints a vivid tale of broken dreams and the descent into darkness of the protagonist named 'Jimmy'. 

Produced by the Balistiq, this is just one of the many razor sharp flow tracks to come from Little Simz off of ‘E.D.G.E.’. The EP will see feature productions from the likes of Sango, Jakwob, High Frequency, and OTG. With this new EP will see Little Simz embark on an intimate series of shows around the world kicking off on June 18 at The Shacklewell Arms in London with the FREE ‘E.D.G.E.’ EP launch.

Peep the tour dates below and take a listen to ‘Enter The Void’

Further dates and info to be released soon.

June 18^th - E.D.G.E. Launch Party: http://eatyourownears.eventgenius.co.uk/events/Little-Simz/index.html

June 21st - Camden Crawl - Camden, London https://www.facebook.com/events/782316885112095/

June 29th - Glastonbury Festival - Pilton

New Music: Little Simz - The Hamptons

Just when you thought you couldn't get enough of Little Simz, the SPACE Age rapper comes flying right back to drop a little summin' for us to vibe and bubble to.

2 weeks ago saw the North London rapper take the stage at this year's SXSW festival and saw her perform for the likes of Soundcloud, Complex, Okayplayer and more, with Sango, Waldo and the Soulection and AGO family. And reading reviews from her performances over in Austin, Texas - Little Simz owned the stage - news that shouldn't be too shocking to her hardcore fans.

‘The Hamptons’ is Simz latest blessing of freshness, which she gracefully raps over the Da-P production, which was originally released in its instrumental form a few months ago as part of a white label release from Soulection. 

Simz amplifies a peaceful song with her own smooth melodic-flow throughout. Stay locked for news on Little Simz debut EP which is set to be released this Spring.

Press play on this piece of audio goodness brought to you by Soulection and SoulCulture.

New Music: Little Simz - Barz Simzson

‘Barz Simzson’ is the perfect name for Little Simz new release. Following the release of her debut BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale Session mid last month, Simz drops a bombshell on us with ‘Barz Simzson’ - ahead of her debut EP release this spring.

Before Simz steps on stage at SXSW next week in Texas, she teams up with Chicago hailing producer - Hank Iving - who put together are actually a problem. ‘Barz Simzson’ showcases Simz' high level of songwriting and arrangement in one, sending shivers down your spine from its opening bars. And if new music isn't exciting enough, it's even available for FREE download!

*side note: Little Simz is the hardest out! She kills every single beat! She's actually a problem!*

Check out ‘Barz Simzson’ below:

Little Simz at SXSW next week tour dates:

March 12th - HW&W x WRC OFFICIAL SXSW SHOWCASE

March 14th - ICM OFFICIAL SXSW SHOWCASE

March 15th - Soulection SXSW Takeover

Little Simz: BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale Session for Huw Stephens + Unveils New Song

The year 2014 has began with a bang for North London female rapper - Little Simz, unveiling her debut BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale session with Huw Stephens, Little Simz shows us why she is not to be slept on this year; or ever for that matter.

Little Simz performed 3 tracks including the world premiere of ‘Mandarin Oranges 2’, (the sequel to the Sango produced collaborative cut with Waldo ‘Mandarin Oranges’ that has clocked up over 100,000 plays on Soundcloud so far).

‘Mandarin Oranges 2’ is taken from Simz' forthcoming EP set for release later on this Spring, the follow up from her fourth mixtape ‘Blank Canvas’ which was premiered on Jay Z's Life + Times website last September.

In the Maida Vale session below Simz performs ‘Mandarin Oranges 2’, ‘Bad’ and ‘Shadows’ - two of which appears on her ‘Blank Canvas’ mixtape, and one that will be featured on her forthcoming EP. The podcast is available for download here

Nevertheless - enjoy some pure live music from Little Simz, she doesn't fail to impress in this incredible showcase of her ability to perform live.

Little Simz' flow on ‘Mandarin Oranges 2’ is actually a problem, it only has me wanting to hear more from her. Especially when she begins rapping from 1:38, and those drums. My days! 

Please enjoy whilst I just catch my breath because she just took the life out of me with this Maida Vale Session! 

Download Little Simz' ‘Blank Canvas’ mixtape: http://littlesimz.bandcamp.com/ or stream it here via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/littlesimz/sets/blank-canvas/s-eQlNf

New Music: Little Simz & Tilla - Classy Events

Little Simz is amazing, don't let anyone tell you any different - she's going to be HUGE! Read below...

Little Simz is taking no prisoners this new year as following the release of her Sango produced collaborative cut with Waldo Mandarin Oranges on Monday, via Soul Culture, today she drops off something new in the form of ‘Classy Events’.

Premiered via Dazed & Confused, the track sees the 19 year old North London repping rapper joining forces with 15 year old singer and fellow Space Age member Tilla for a smoothed out R&B and Hip Hop duet affair over J. Dilla‘s ‘Trashy’ instrumental.

Following the release of her fourth mix tape ‘Blank Canvas’via Jay Z's Life + Times last September, Simz doesn’t fail to impress with this one as she also showcases her high level of songwriting and arrangement, with every word on this penned, recorded and mixed by herself. Press play below!

Also catch Little Simz performing at LoveDough this coming Friday in London, peep the pic below for further details! Not to be missed!

New Music: Little Simz & Waldo - Mandarin Oranges

It’s full steam ahead for the 19-year-old wunderkind known as Little Simz as she teams up with two of the hottest new talents from both sides of the Atlantic who will be making major moves over the next 12 months.

North London female rapper Little Simz and Grand Rapids, Michigan hailing Waldo both made an impact in 2013, with Simz releasing her incredible Blank Canvas mixtape via Jay Z’s Life + Times and receiving co-signs from the likes of Zane Lowe and Sylvia Rhone, 2014 is set to be a huge year for the star in the making. 

Waldo also made an impression with his reload worthy NSDE/OUTSDE project produced entirely by fast rising production wizard Sango, both lyricists combine their talents on ‘Mandarin Oranges’ delivering impeccable wordplay over a stellar soundscape provided by Sango.

Little Simz: Unveils ‘Blank Canvas’ Mixtape + New Video ‘Deranged’

North London lyricist Little Simz has unveiled her highly anticipated mixtape ‘Blank Canvas’ via Jay Z's very own Life + Times.

The 19 year old rapper/musician and rising star has not only released a video for ‘3000x’ featuring two members of her SPACE AGE collective Josh Acré and Chuck20, made her international feature debut on Brooklyn raised rapper/producer Melo-X's ‘Rich Man’, joined forces with Melo-X again and Los Angeles hailing rapper Thurz for her ‘Leave It As That (Remix)’, had radio premieres on Kiss 100 and BBC 1Xtra and more, but she has now released her fourth mixtape, ‘Blank Canvas’.

The self penned project featuring i-D Magazine's ‘Song Of The Day’ - ‘Bad’ along with her legendary ‘3000’ featuring her fellow Space Age associates Josh Acré and Chuck20 is an incredible body of work set to send shivers down your spine from its opening bars.

Get ready to have your mind blown, and welcome to the world of Little Simz.

Taking things up a notch from the monochromatic ‘3000x’ visual, ‘Deranged’ is a dark, glitchy and gripping affair, packed with overt and subliminal messages that arrest your full attention as Simz delivers an intricate monologue over the Matt Martians x randomblackdude produced instrumental for Earl Sweatshirt's ‘Hive’, blurring the lines between reality and ‘madness’.