Little Simz & Chineke! Orchestra review – rap-classical crossover is spectacularly realised

Not many can say that they've reloaded a symphony orchestra. But as the Southbank Centre erupts after the opening horns of Gorilla, Little Simz has to run it back, starting the track again in the manner of a rowdy club set.
Backed by the majority Black and ethnically diverse Chineke! Orchestra and her own live band, Simz – closing out the 11-day Meltdown festival which she curated this year – performs a set that is equal parts genuine and genius. The energy in the room is overwhelming, overcoming any misgivings about performing to a seated crowd.
Songs of contrasting styles are played one after the other, to highlight the malleability not only of Simz as a performer but of the combination of the live band and orchestra. Young, with post-punk production and Mike Skinner-esque rapping, topples into Free, which is soulfully stripped back. The string players create a frantic, horror-film atmosphere for Thief and Flood, but immediately after, serve to make the 'I love you' on Two Worlds Apart far more tender. This extends to word painting: on Introvert, the flutes invoke a choir ('I see sinners in a church'); vibrato strings mimic a voice trembling and breaking on Lonely, the raw, vulnerable track about her internal struggle with producing new album Lotus.
Joining her are Miraa May for Peace, longtime collaborator Obongjayar for Lion and Point and Kill, and Wretch 32 and Cashh for Blood. For the latter, Wretch emerges from the crowd and walks down through the stalls, clever staging since the song is structured as a phone conversation, forcing the audience to look between the two rappers like watching a tennis match.
At points, Simz feels larger than life, spectacular, replacing conductor Chris Cameron at the helm of the Chineke! Orchestra during Venom, rapping while facing the ensemble until the chorus, to frantic lights. Yet she's chatty between songs, strolls the aisles during Heart's on Fire, and stands beaming like a schoolgirl soaking in minutes-long applause. The whole experience is perfectly orchestrated – in every sense of the word.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Sun

36 minutes ago

• The Sun

Love Island bombshell Gio's incredible body transformation and glow up before villa

FOUR sizzling new bombshells have shaken up the Love Island villa — and one has undergone a jaw-dropping body transformation before entering the ITV2 show. Single hunk Giorgio Russo has revealed his pre-show glow up and the before and after is unrecognisable. 5 5 5 Gio, who is the brother of England and Arsenal star forward Alessia Russo, took to TikTok to show off his body transformation. In one of the app's popular trends, users share their glow ups using before and after pics along to Drake's hit song How Bout Now. The short clip shows multiple throwback pics of a young Gio sporting braces and looking worlds away from his current self — before cutting to recent snaps revealing his six pack. The half-Italian hunk has swapped teenage awkwardness for full-blown heartthrob status. With his sculpted physique and polished new look, it's clear he's been putting in serious graft ahead of villa life. Captioning the post, he penned: 'Thought I would jump on the TikTok hype #tiktoktraditions #glowup' The accounts manager from Maidstone is big into his fitness just like his Lioness sis Alessia. On his social media he shares many fitness related posts with his followers, which include running, surfing and working out. Gio is now ready to find love in Majorca and has landed in the villa alongside fellow bombshells Will Means, Poppy Harrison and Caprice Alexandra. Speaking about going on the show, he said: 'I'm excited, it's given me a really good opportunity to look at things from the outside so I know what I'm going in for." Love Islander 'gives away' he's faking relationship to stay in the villa Mentioning how sister Alessia feels about his upcoming villa stint, he said: 'She's really excited, she watches every year and reckons I can do well so she's excited to see how I get on.' Continuing, he disclosed what kind of person he's hoping to find the villa. He said: "My sister plays pro football, so being interested in sport, they don't have to know football or understand it, but if they can show some sort of interest because it is such a prominent thing in our family. "It would be hard if they hated it. "Other green flags are having a nice family, I'm sick of being the 7th wheel in my own family!" 5 5

Daily Mail​

41 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Fern Britton claims she 'foolishly' let exes and work colleagues 'manipulate' her as she reveals whether or not she'd be open to finding love again

Fern Britton has admitted she 'foolishly' let past romantic partners and work colleagues 'manipulate' her. The former This Morning presenter, 67, divorced TV executive Clive Jones, 76, which was finalised in 2000 following their split in 1998 after 10 years of marriage, and split from TV chef Phil Vickery, 64, in 2020. Fern has now said she kicks herself for 'foolishly' giving 'power' to her former lovers, as well as those Fern has worked with throughout her illustrious career in show business. Asked how the author has changed as she has got older in an interview with Saga magazine, Fern said: 'I always thought everything would be all right. 'Although that's not changed, I think I understand myself a bit better now and can look back and see that I foolishly handed power to partners, bosses and colleagues, because I'm very easy-going and I never used to see around the corner and think, "Oh hang on, they're actually manipulating me".' However, the Celebrity Big Brother 2024 housemate expressed that she is open to dating again. Asked if she would look for Mr. Right again, Fern revealed: 'I'm not averse to it but they'd have to be spectacular. They have to make me laugh, they must be kind, and they must be honest.' Fern - who has 31-year-old twin sons named Jack and Harry, and a 27-year-old daughter called Grace with Clive, as well as a 23-year-old daughter named Winnie with Phil - said she thinks it is tricky for people to find relationships now. She explained: 'I've got very interested in how complicated it is for young people dating. Grace has a lovely partner, but Winnie is single, and while she's a very attractive girl, it all seems so difficult now. 'In the '70s a man would just come and say, "Oh, do you want to go out?" and you'd reply, "Yes, thank you". Now it seems they're all giving each other therapy about someone they've been seeing for ten days. 'I was intrigued about how these relationships work and wanted to explore that a bit.' And Fern has found happiness by going to church and helping to make drinks and food during the services. 'I've started regularly going to church, and honestly just helping make the coffees and the sandwiches in the church hall gives me the nicest feeling I've had for a long time,' she said. 'I would urge people not to be scared to do something, however small – find a charity to volunteer for, go and read in a school. People talk about this all the time, but it actually is amazing what it gives you back.' It comes after she addressed Phillip Schofield 's departure from This Morning and reflected on their time hosting the show together after their falling out. The 67-year-old anchored the ITV programme alongside Schofield, 63, for seven years before quitting in 2009. Ahead of her departure, the pair famously fell out and haven't spoken since, with Phil previously claiming in his autobiography their relationship was 'beyond repair'. It was claimed at the time she felt 'undervalued by ITV' and that she was 'living in Phil's shadow'. Now 15 years on, Fern said she had 'great fun' hosting This Morning with her former pal whilst speaking about his own controversial exit. Speaking to Saga Magazine, she said: 'It brought up a lot of mixed emotions. 'The years we worked together were mostly great fun and we were a very good partnership, which I can remember with fondness. 'I knew how much he loved his job and cared deeply for his public perception. It must have been a terribly difficult time for him and his family.' In 2022, Fern ended their long-running feud when she congratulated Schofe in a video message to celebrate his 40th anniversary in television. Last year the mum-of-four returned to screens, appearing on Celebrity Big Brother alongside Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne. Tensions between Holly and Phil reached further heights when he boldly declared there were 'three s**ts' at ITV on his Channel 5 show Cast Away Phillip stepped down from This Morning and subsequently all TV projects after he admitted to an 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a 20-year-old crew member on the daytime show. Holly Willoughby, who took over hosting duties on This Morning from Fern, released a statement at the time saying she had felt 'hurt' by his 'lies'. Holly stepped down from presenting This Morning after 14 years on the show due to a terrifying kidnap threat and subsequently took time out from the spotlight. Phillip is also said to have called Holly 'The Witch' following the pair's departure from their presenting roles. Tensions between the pair reached further heights when Phil boldly declared there were 'three s**ts' at ITV on his Channel 5 show Cast Away. The pair used to be best friends, with their families even taking annual holidays together, but the bitter feud appears to have been reignited. Phillip is said to have told Holly that she 'brought him down' before he resigned from This Morning. Meanwhile, last week Phillip was making the most of the warm summer weather as he took his dog for a walk in west London on Wednesday.

Telegraph

an hour ago

• Telegraph

JK Rowling denies having friendship with Fry after transphobia claim

JK Rowling has denied ever being friends with Sir Stephen Fry after he claimed she had been ' radicalised by terfs '. The comedian, writer and television presenter – who narrated all seven Harry Potter audiobooks – distanced himself from the author last week when he described her as a 'lost cause'. In his first public criticism of Rowling, Fry alleged that she had 'kicked up a hornets' nest of transphobia'. However, on Sunday night she hit back at the criticism, writing on X: 'It is a great mistake to assume that everyone who claims to have been a friend of mine was ever considered a friend by me.' Rowling made the comment alongside a screenshot of a social media post by Jolyon Maugham, a British barrister, in which he said: 'Really creditable this, from Stephen Fry. 'I've spoken to so many of JKR's once friends who now despair at her privately but won't do so publicly, which is very much the British way and why nothing ever changes for the better. So, well done Stephen.' Rowling has become a leading voice in the transgender debate. She publicly celebrated the Supreme Court's signficant ruling that transgender women are not legally women, posting a picture of herself enjoying a drink and a cigar. Fry became the latest high-profile figure to criticise her after well-documented fall-outs with original Harry Potter cast members Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. On the Show People podcast, Fry said: ' She has been radicalised, I fear, and it may be she has been radicalised by terfs but also by the vitriol that is thrown at her. It is unhelpful and only hardens her and will only continue to harden her, I am afraid. 'I am not saying that she [should] not be called out when she says things that are really cruel, wrong and mocking. She seems to be a lost cause for us.' He claimed Rowling was 'mocking' LGBT+ people and vowed his support for the community, adding: 'She started to make these peculiar statements and had very strong, difficult views. I disagree profoundly with her on this subject.' Fry said he was 'very happy' to go on the record and say he was 'really angry' about Rowling's 'crowing' over the Supreme Court ruling, but added that he had always enjoyed her company and previously found her 'charming, funny and interesting'. In her most recent addition to the trans debate, Rowling praised a BBC newsreader for appearing to reject a gender-neutral phrase during a live broadcast. She said Martine Croxall was now her 'new favourite' newsreader after she used the term 'pregnant people', before adding 'women' with emphasis and slightly rolling her eyes.