Before you hear this track for the first time, you read the title and you know this is going to be something epic! Then the track starts with an almost cinematic crescendo, with harps, horns & strings all building anticipation and in the last second of the intro you have no idea what’s about to hit you. 

Then wham, the song kicks into this awesome triplet bass drum beat, with the words “I love you, I hate you”, repeated against the beat. Wow, what a way to start of a track! 

Love and hate are the two most powerful forces in the world, and the way Little Simz uses them together to describe the polarity of feelings you can have about a person, drives this track and underpins all the lyrics. 

This powerful statement “I love you, I hate you”, is used in a few different ways throughout this track. 

It’s used in the background of the verses, it’s used again in the chorus, and again in the coda of the track. It’s definitely the main hook of the song, and it’s what you’ll instantly take away with you from your very first listen. 

Lyrically, the song explores the relationship between the main characters (a woman and her dad). The lyrics are deep and cut right to the bone. I think a heap of people will relate to the complex feelings the lyrics can drudge up, especially for those who’ve experienced love, hate, type relationships. 

There’s no doubt the lyrics flow from love to hate and back and forth, which captures the complexity and the main point of this track in a powerful way. 

Musically, the track is all about letting the rap lyrics shine. The track supports intensity of the lyrics and shifts gears when it needs to, and adds emphasis and dynamics at the right time and place. 

The beat and bass line form a solid foundation and the use of horns, strings, a rusty old piano, background vocals, guitar and harp, lift the track in interesting ways all the way through. 

The line “I love you, I hate you”, will be burned into your mind all day long, after just one listen. 

Author: Rob Costa

Rob Costa is a freelance writer & Ghost songwriter from Melbourne, Australia. Rob helps us out with music reviews.