Simz

to do things that are a bit challenging and take risks that’s why it seems like it’s another level up, it’s always elevating.

does she mean by that, what are you talking about here. So I understand it. Whether I do or I don’t that’s not really something I can really avoid so may as well be as open and as honest as I can be, you know what I mean. Totally. Do you ever have out-of-body experiences where you’re looking down on yourself – whether it’s when you won the Mercury Prize or when you released a book or all these phenomenal feats you’ve achieved and just been like what the fuck this is my life.

I try to remain very present. Although I do have moments where I’m like oh that’s really cool. Pat on the back for the one. You know what I’m saying, like I can recognise my work and be proud of it. In the same breath, I’m just someone who believes you should just not take credit for everything you have, you know what I mean. I don’t know who I would be without my faith so a lot of things I just put down to a higher power. I just know I’m being worked through. That’s why sometimes when I do interviews and I gotta explain what a line means sometimes I genuinely don’t know. And that’s why I know it’s not always me, you know. I don’t know why

I said that line like that. It’s not always as calculated as people think, you know. Sometimes it just happens. That’s my thing. I don’t want to take too much credit but I can still acknowledge that I put in the work.

On that, I’m always so intrigued with extremely successful people such as yourself - did you always have an internal belief that you were going to ‘make it.’ Like it’s very clear to me that you’re a humble human from just these last ten minutes, but that aside, was there always something deep down in you that just had that belief or was it something that you kind of worked on with the more success you started to have?

You know what, I did you know. Yes. I love to hear that.

Yeah from when I was younger I would always tell people yeah this is what I’m going to do with my life, you know. I knew because of how driven I was and how on it I was. I just thought, there is no, no way that I can be this committed to something, and this passionate and motivated in the morning to wake up and do it every single day when it’s not paying me a penny. When it was not funding my life but it didn’t even matter because this is the one thing I can truly say with my chest that I’m half decent at, you know. So yeah I think I always had that belief. But also, I come from a very supportive family and I think that when you’re in an environment where you’re allowed to dream it puts a bit of a battery in your back. Like oh okay everyone I’m around believes in me, even in the moments that I don’t, you know. When there’s self-doubt but my mum’s still backing me, in the same way my sisters are still backing me in the same way my brothers are still backing me. You know what I mean, like cool man.

Absolutely. What was it like holding your published book for the first time? That’s a goal of any writer so I can appreciate how amazing that would have been.

Yeah. It’s just like, man! It’s different from holding a record or a vinyl. It’s just reading and words and pictures but the process of making it was very long. I was super deep in when I had the realisation of how much work went into it so I had to finish it. From the sampling process to testing materials, and pages - it’s a whole thing. So by the time I had it I was like thank fuck finally! But it’s really beautiful. It’s almost like a little trophy, even the way it sits.

Yeah I suppose with a CD or a vinyl you’ve gotta go do something else with it to do the thing that it’s intended to do but with a book like that’s it – there in your hands. Exactly. Instant happiness. One more question, this one’s from everyone in the office – can you give us any kind of information about the latest season of Top Boy? Ohhhhh absolutely no chance [laughs]. Not because I don’t want to, but because just because I will get in trouble. Fair enough. I can say that it’s the last season. I think that’s already out there. It’s a ballad though. Looking forward to it. Well thank you so much. This has been a time, you’re someone I really respect and look up to so yeah thanks for making some room in your day for me. Aw thank you, thanks for your time as well. Stay well.