“I was a rowdy and lost and a frustrated teenager who was struggling with issues of identity and sexuality and my place in the world,” she says. She credits her son with saving her life. In addition to pursuing a musical career, Leilani became a mother at 18. I don’t always have to have that time slot as the hip-hop act.” Let me be on the singer-songwriter stage. I mostly find that people get lazy being like, ‘You’re an urban artist,’ and it’s like what are you saying? I’m Black? … Let me get on some folk festivals or something. “Don’t stick me there because that’s not necessarily what I’m doing. “Don’t just stick me there because you see a Black girl doing something on beats,” Leilani says. But Leilani resists hip-hop as a catch-all description-mostly because it’s inaccurate, but she’s also found such labeling can limit her opportunities. As Above Top Secret-a trio comprised of Leilani, Mas Aya (Brandon Valdivia), and partner and producer Sun Sun-the songs are underscored by space-age futurism with a slight lean towards hip-hop. It’s smooth and sensual her delivery teeters between spoken-word poetics and atmospheric crooning. They called themselves “The Cousins Band” she recalls warmly, and even though she was relegated to ad-libbed “oohs” and “ahhs” back then, she remains the lone member of their band.Īs Witch Prophet, Leilani’s music sounds like a page pulled from the book of neo-soul. At gatherings, the younger members of her family would go off and practice skits and songs to perform for the adults later. Some of those cousins were the first people she ever played music with. I’m the only one who does any sort of music.” “All of my cousins and everything have turned out to be nurses or they work in engineering. “It’s probably the worst thing you could be,” Leilani says with a laugh. As for career options-well, musician certainly wasn’t high on the list. That meant religion was a cornerstone, family and marriage were sacred. Born in Kenya but raised and based in Toronto, she is Ethiopian and Eritrean her upbringing and family were rooted in Habesha tradition. Much of Leilani’s life has been spent going against the norms of her culture, intentionally and unintentionally. That she lands on the darker side of the dichotomy is no coincidence. Pre-order buy pre-order buy you own this wishlist in wishlist go to album go to track go to album go to track
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