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N<\/strong>ia Smith<\/a> is caught between her ambition to speed up and her desire for a break. It\u2019s been two years since the release of the British soul star\u2019s debut EP \u2018Give Up The Fear\u2019 and, while the rollout itself was \u201cpretty chill\u201d, life has felt non-stop ever since.<\/p>\n While her first single, the EP\u2019s soulful and resilient title-track, was a perfect introduction to Smith as an artist, it was her collaboration with Jamaican dancehall superstar Popcaan<\/a> on the remix of her track \u2018Personal\u2019 that really blew things up. In the aftermath, she\u2019s been nominated for the Rising Star award at the 2025 Ivor Novellos Award and Best Newcomer at the 2026 MOBOs. She\u2019s ticked off Later\u2026 With Jools Holland<\/em> and performing at Glastonbury<\/a>, and more recently, appearing at Milan Fashion Week via an invitation from Prada.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m kind of exhausted at the moment,\u201d says the Brixton native, speaking to NME<\/em> from her hometown. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve been working loads, but I\u2019ve been keeping the right people around me to make sure I\u2019m grounded and making time for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n You can sense the work that Smith has been putting into her craft in her latest EP, \u2018Payback Is A Dog\u2019, which arrived last week. The record marks a poignant step up for the former BRIT School and ELAM alumni, who had her first brush with nebulous fame performing covers on TikTok. While \u2018Give Up The Fear\u2019 had Smith learning the ropes of the music industry and finding her feet in the studio, this time around, she gave herself a lot more room to breathe.<\/p>\n