INTERVIEW WITH LADY LESHURR
Lady Leshurr has definitely been the talk of the social networks over the last few years, and without a doubt, Amor couldn’t help but have a quick chat with the female rapper! “Mona Lisa” talks about her EP, her label, inspirations and love life!
Female empowerment is something Amor represent, and Lady Leshurr definitely showed support for the cause in our convo! Let’s take a look at what she had to say…
We have had some very good feedback of your performances at Ashanti’s concert and French Montana’s… how was it?
“For me, it was overwhelming to be selected to perform at those concerts – it was just amazing. The audiences were very interactive with me!”
You recently tweeted about working with some “big known artists”… whom were you talking about?
“(Laughs) I tweeted that last night right?… I write things and hope they come true. (The Law off attraction) Nothing has been confirmed, but I’m going to be back and forth to LA in the near future so hopefully…”
Who is your musical inspiration?
“Definitely Eminem. He made me want to be a rapper – I find him amazing. His character, what he does, his personality, the way he performs… More recently – Lil Wayne. I love the way he has built his own team, and his own record label. Lil Wayne has the best artists in the music industry right now.”
Do you find it hard being a female rapper in the music industry?
“It has its downfalls, disadvantages and advantages… when I was starting out, there were only a few UK female rappers like – Shystie and No Lay; and they were the ones I grew up listening to. A disadvantage for me was, there is very few UK rappers coming from outside of London. So when I came to London and I did my freestyle on SBTV for example, people wanted to listen to me more for hearing my accent, rather than my actual content. I will rep where I’m from – I will never sell out! I’m back and forth between London and Birmingham and if it was possible, I wouldn’t change where I am from – Ever!”
Lil Kim or Nicki Minaj and why?
“(Laughs) The old Lil Kim and the old Nicki Minaj… I listened to Nicki before she became as big as she is now and I loved her stuff – it was mad! I miss that, but at the same time I respect and understand that she had to progress, and did what she needed to do, to make it. I can’t knock her, I really respect where she is now. Even doing a pop song… she knew she had to do different things, to make it on a commercial level. You have to do different things and experiment, and that’s what makes you an artist. I really respect Nicki’s grind and what she’s been through…”
What are your views on female empowerment?
“I’d love to see females getting on. There are so many females who don’t speak or want to work with each other. Recently I tweeted “Who is the best upcoming female rapper in the UK?” because I want to know. I support it. I don’t think – “that’s my competition”. I really prefer to help people.
I’m trying to do things for females, especially upcoming female rappers. I really want to help people, who don’t get enough recognition. I might be doing something with the BBC around this…”
So your recent EP was called “Mona Lisa” why call it that?
“The painting Mona Lisa, and the fact my name is in it, and it’s my favorite piece of art. I wanted to play on both reasons – the artwork has my face instead of the Mona Lisa. I had an advert and an art gallery I did. I definitely just kept my EP consistent. I’m going to be touring “Mona Lisa” next year! Early next year, between Jan to May, it is not confirmed yet…”
What was your inspiration behind the EP?
“I’ve always loved Missy Elliot and I wanted to do the whole old-school Hip-Hop meets new-school Hip-Hop. I wanted it a certain way, I love what Missy Elliot has done for females and I tweeted her for her to listen to it. Back in the day, she started following me on Twitter, so I wanted to do a tribute of all the effort and songs she has done. It’s basically a Missy Elliot inspired CD, to show her, where her music has taken her.”
You’ve had quite a close friendship with ‘Paigey Cakey”, how did you both get so close?
“I don’t even know; we just started tweeting each other. I saw a few of her videos on YouTube years ago, and knew she would be big. Next thing you know, she tweeted me and then we started talking. I’m trying to find the next person that I can help – I have a record label, which supports female rappers. I don’t want it to be a sexist thing, but there isn’t leadership for the female MCs and I want to be that leader. I want to help and support people, and take them to places I go, so that they can showcase their talent as well.
I’m passionate about getting more female rappers on the scene. I want to be that person who makes it happen. If I have to spend a lot of money to do it, then I don’t even mind as long as it is done – there needs to be more female rappers.”
Are you dating anyone?
“No I’m not you know, I haven’t had a man for like six years (laughs). The only reason why, is because I truly believe, I’ve been too distracted to find the right man. I’ve already been through it; I was with someone for like five years.
A normal guy would find it really boring having a female rapper as their girl, and I think the reason why I’ve been single for so long, is because the guys are so intimidated. I am also paranoid that men might just want me because of my name, so I really wish I had someone before, because I’ll know they were true. I know I’ll find someone though.”
What is your advice for other females who want to become rappers, especially in the UK?
“I would say, do it because you’re passionate about it! Don’t just do it because you can get money from it. The harder you work, the greater the outcome will be. And just be consistent.”
Words: Wardah Sempa
