Interview: SIMSIMSOSA

Alternative rap maestro SIMSIMSOSA is making a major impression on the UK northern hip-hop scene, despite lacking an extensive catalogue of music. Although he is an up-and-comer, Sim is no amateur emcee; he has been recording music since the age of 17 before taking it seriously in his twenties. “I was the only one out of my friend group rapping,” reminisced Sim. “Obviously, we used to have freestyle sessions just for fun, but actually doing something and showing the world? I was one of the first out of my friends to actually do anything in regards to that." Coming up mostly on grime, drill, UK/USA rap & hip-hop whilst he was brought up in Leeds, Sim now resides in Sheffield where it is hard to get noticed through music. “The up north scene has not got as much exposure,” agreed Sim. “It is starting to have exposure in places like Manchester, but other areas like Leeds, Sheffield, Huddersfield, they're just starting to get a little bit more exposure."

Currently Sim is an active member of two collectives, one being The Creators Hub - a Sheffield based meetup which hosts monthly events such as open mics and painting sessions to promote people’s passions when it comes to creativity. “We have a lot of different artists on there which come for the open mics,” continued Sim. “So it's like a creative space as well, we have had it for like, a year but we have only recently started doing events and stuff for the last 6 months: poetry, rap, singing, any creative outlet that they can perform in front of a crowd." The other is Unapologetic Music, an up-and-coming label which has been assisting Sim behind the scenes. The label was founded by his friend, Tuntu, who Sim describes as ‘a real catalyst’ for his musical progression. “It’s basically my management,” explained Sim. “They help me in terms of creating my sound, finding myself as an artist, helping me with shows and performances - just the professionalism of everything. So the things that happen behind the scenes, Unapologetic Music & Tuntu help me with that basically.”

“He understands what I am trying to do from a soul's perspective, not just from a surface perspective,” continued Sim, speaking on his musical chemistry with Tuntu. “That I'll say was kind of like a divine interaction, you know when you just meet someone and nothing is forced or anything and you just click - even with the music, you just click - like the universe is trying to put you with the right person at the right time, you get what I mean?"

Last September Sim released The Void - a poetic single that provides a spiritual insight into Sim’s mindset, enhanced by a stunning visual filmed by GRIT Multimedia, ultimately portraying Sim as his greatest self. The song was written in 2020 before being recorded the following year, undergoing a period of essential nurturing before realising its final form. “It’s a process, like growing a plant,” mused Sim. “You have always got to water it - so I put a lot of time into The Void, just because this song is something that I hold very dear to my heart, something that is very poetic to me - so I had to do something 10/10 for that." The standalone single received a modest reception which exceeded Sim’s expectations, assisted by the music video that helped encapture people’s imaginations with its unique storyline. “Miro, the main guy from GRIT Multimedia, he did an amazing job on that,” stated Sim. Opposed to sticking with conventional themes when it comes to rap music, Sim always aspires to stand-out with something different. “I really feel like we are trailblazing,” said Sim. “A load of these people just stick to the same trend, but I am trying to break through and open new doors. I am a very alternative artist, an artist that loves to try new things and not just follow the crowd."

In early February, Sim capitalised on the momentum The Void had with a debut project, HOOLIGAN, featuring 11 tracks which Sim recorded and saved in a vault over recent years. This is evidenced by certain lyrics, such as on a track called Pattern It, where Sim rhymes, ‘2020, it’s a new era / not a new year’ - despite lacking purposeful themes throughout the project, it’s a very carefree tape with an array of emotions attached to it. “I like to change it up,” explained Sim. “I feel like in some of my projects I am very conscientious, so for this one I liked to just let go and let the music do it's own thing and take its own direction, instead of me trying to control the themes, what people will think of it and what I wanted the outcome of the project to be.” In terms of the vibes musically, HOOLIGAN has a bit of everything which inspires Sim - from punk to psychedelic. “I just wanted to change the stress of boundaries on rap up north, you know what I mean?” continued Sim. “Just to show people that you can cross genres, do different things and make different types of music.”

Keeping with Sim’s intention of bringing in different styles, there are also three featured collaborations on HOOLIGAN, Ronnie Zion, Sho Elz and Da Guy. “Ronnie Zion is an up and coming artist from Manchester / Bradford doing his thing,” said Sim. “I have also got Sho Elz who is a close brother of mine, he has been around whilst I was making music years ago, but we only recently started collaborating together. I've got another friend called Da Guy, he is on there as well." The main producer for the project was @lnj.beats, “They made Pattern It, they also made the beat for £xpensive Things, they also made the beat for MOSHPIT," added Sim. To promote the release, Sim recorded a new music video for a stand-out single called 3SOSA that is due to come out very soon. “I am thinking about dropping it next week,” teased Sim. “This one was done by my friend called Muli, big up Mulli, he is one of the founders of Skitzo Worldwide, he is a fashion designer and he makes really nice clothing, jeans, denim type clothes, all types of stuff to be fair."

SIMSIMSOSA, thank you for your time.

Words by Evo

Photography by @b.xki, @myles_bailey, @gritmultimedia