Kevin O’Reilly spoke to the up-and-coming British freestyle rap sensation to find out more about her music and her online and international stardom.
From a very early age Melesha O’Garro has been immersed in a world of music, drawing influence from the likes of Garage Freestyle rapper Dizzee Rascal. Growing up surrounded by a musical family, she began writing lyrics as young as age 12. Now, drawing on that well of talent and support and with an impressive career both behind and ahead of her, she if finding comparisons to other female rappers like Azelia Banks and Nicki Minaj. The big difference is her unique mix of Caribbean heritage and British upbringing which influences a lot of her music, touching on grunge and reggae. Her lyrics, fast and rhythmic, come from the everyday; Instagram, Snapchat, and Nando’s but there’s also swift switching to more pressing cultural and societal issues. This makes her music both relatable and entertaining with a refreshing lack of reliance on swearing and bad language
Most known for her ‘Queen’s Speech’ videos which went viral, some gaining millions of views. These videos are a series of dubbed freestyling raps taken in a single shoot and are fast-paced, catchy and funny and have seen Melesha’s music reach a broader and broader audience. She described her surprise when the videos took off and became a sensation and while she had big plans for her videos she had no idea that they would become nearly as widely viewed as they did. Just some other highlights so far for her have been playing SXSW, Glastonbury and Leeds but she says there’s much more to come. The lady is about to kick off her European tour and will be stopping over in Dublin for a visit to The Academy on March 12th. For some fun, energetic and jaw-dropping rap make sure keep that Saturday night free and catch Lady Leshurr in action.
- Kevin O’Reilly, Music Editor
This article originally appeared in Volume 29, Issue 9. Published February 29th 2016.
