Stormzy & Little Simz Talk “Making It Out The Hood” 

Stormzy and Little Simz are two of U.K. rap’s biggest exports, touring the world, racking up millions of record sales and releasing critically acclaimed albums. 

However, they’ve both come a long way from their humble beginnings as aspiring London artists. Stormzy reflected on his upbringing during a British Vogue interview with fellow cover star Little Simz. 

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“Can you take the hood out of the boy?” Little Simz asked. “Nah, the “Vossi Bop” hitmaker replied. “You can’t, in the most beautiful way possible, I say that. In the sense that that’s what made me, and that’s who I am.” 

Stormzy clarified the misconception that making it out of the hood equates to turning your back on it. “That’s not rejecting it,” he said, adding that childhood friends always encourage him to leave.  

Although Stormzy said his upbringing in the gritty streets of South London was “integral” to making him the man he is today, there are some aspects he’s gladly left behind, recalling past “embarrassing” behavior.  

“As a 30-year-old man reacting to something violently isn’t the one,” he declared. “Man needs to kind of get rid of some of that in order to grow.” 

Elsewhere in the conversation, Stormzy and Little Simz discussed their “dream song lineup.” 

Simz chose a mix of eclectic artists with an assist from Sometimes I Might Be Introvert producer Inflo. Stormzy would open the track with Playboi Carti on adlibs and a flute interlude from André 3000. “I’ll maybe do a little spoken word bit, and then Cleo [Sol] would see us out,” she added. 

Meanwhile, Stormzy returned the compliment, putting Simz on the first verse with the second from Kendrick Lamar. He also went with Cleo Sol vocals and production from Flo and This Is What I Mean executive producer Kassa Alexander. 

Check out their interview below.