Leikeli47


Leikeli47, also known as Leikeli, is an American musician signed to RCA Records. In 2018, she released her second full-length album, Acrylic. She is known for concealing her face with a bandana or balaclava at all performances and professional appearances.

Early life

Leikeli was raised in both Virginia and New York, primarily in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brownsville and Bedford–Stuyvesant. She described herself as having been a shy child who was interested in becoming a musician from a young age. She cites Michael Jackson and N.E.R.D as some of her favorite performers.

Career

Prior to being signed to RCA Records, Leikeli released a mixtape in 2010 titled LK-47. This was followed by a string of releases including the sequel mixtape LK-47 Pt. II in 2014 and a self-titled EP in 2015, Leikeli47. In 2015, Leikeli's song "Fuck the Summer Up" was included on Jay-Z's inaugural Tidal playlist called F*ck The Summer Up.
Leikeli's first full-length debut, Wash & Set, was released on September 8, 2017. It was received positively by critics. Afropunk.com wrote, "the album showcases Leikeli47’s distinctively hard-hitting yet playful lyricism, genre-bending musicianship, and enigmatic character." Darryl Robertson wrote for Vibe, "the dynamic, and featureless, effort is loaded with creativity, vigor and the power of her own feminism. It's evident that Leikeli is aiming to break rules and push boundaries hip-hop."
Acrylic was released on November 15, 2018. The title was inspired by her mixture of southern, Caribbean, and city roots. The first single on the album, "Girl Blunt", was featured on the third season of Insecure. The album received positive critical reviews. Jenn Pelly wrote at Pitchfork.com: "Her flow is always gripping, her details novelistic: An aunt sells candy from a windowpane, an extension cord snakes across a hallway, and the lights flicker in an E train tunnel." Dhruva Balram wrote for NME, "At times, and especially on ‘Iron Mike’, Leikeli47 sounds like the best of M.I.A, Cardi B and Kamaiyah rolled into one." Acrylic was named one of NPR's 50 Best Albums of 2018, as well as other lists including Paper Magazine, Esquire, and Forbes. Acrylic is the second part of a planned music trilogy that Leikeli has developed, called the "Beauty Series".
She stated that the next installment to the "Beauty Series" will be called Shape Up. About the theme of beauty salons, she told The Fader, "They're safe havens for all of us — all women, but especially the African-American community. I wanted to create a body of work that spoke to not looking like what you actually are going through." She has stated that she seeks to normalize Black beauty standards, such as decorated fingernails.
Leikeli performed with Pharrell during his I Am Other set at 2017's Complexcon, as well as Natalie Portman's Boston Calling set in 2018, held at Portman's alma mater Harvard University.
Her first headlined tour began in March 2019.

Persona

Leikeli is known for being private and has not released her legal name or performed without her face covered. In June 2019, she told Cultured Magazine, “Being black, we gotta learn how to wear a mask early.”
According to an interview with Vibe, she conceals her face because "I feel like the Dark Knight, or one of those superheroes, or Superman… the mask, it represents freedom. I'm free with it on."

Discography

Studio albums{{Cite web|title=Leikeli47 Album Discography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/leikeli47-mn0003383766/discography|access-date=2020-08-02|website=AllMusic|language=en-us}}