Music – 19 hours ago

Photo Credit: CBS

Accompanied by the Harlem Gospel Choir, B String Quartet and Late Show band, Lil Simz performed No Thank You song “Heart on Fire.”

English rhymesayer Lil Simz brought “Heart on Fire” to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. On Monday night (February 20), the British-Nigerian artist performed the latest single from her fifth studio album, No Thank You, which released in December. On the show, Lil Simz, legal name Simbiatu Abisola Abiola Ajikawo, was backed by the Harlem Gospel Choir, B String Quartet, and members of the Late Show Band.

The Late Show spotlight made Ajikawo’s second time performing “Heart on Fire” as of recent; she last showcased the No Thank You song at the 76th British Academy Film Awards on Sunday (February 19), joined by legendary Kittitian-English artist, Joan Armatrading.

A stunning performance from the sublime @LittleSimz ✨ #EEBAFTAs pic.twitter.com/Wu2baL3yye

— BAFTA (@BAFTA) February 19, 2023

No Thank You was released just one year after Ajikawo’s fourth album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, which received multiple prestigious honors, including an inclusion on Rolling Stone‘s 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time.

To accompany No Thank You – which includes production from Inflo – Aijakawo released a 10-minute visual dedicated to the album, concluding with “Heart on Fire.”

“I’m a public figure, in a way, but I’m a private person,” the 28-year-old artist told Rolling Stone UK last November, teasing No Thank You. “I also think people value mystery. You don’t have to share everything, you know? Or you stagger it. I might share stuff that I’m going through now in 20 years.”

Watch the full Colbert performance below.