Kelela
Kelela | |
---|---|
![]() Kelela performing in 2018 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Kelela Mizanekristos |
Born | Washington, D.C., U.S. | June 6, 1983
Genres | |
Occupations |
|
Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | 2011–present |
Labels |
|
Website | kelela |
Kelela Mizanekristos (born June 6, 1983) is an Ethiopian American singer and songwriter. She made her debut in the music industry with the release of her 2013 mixtape Cut 4 Me. In 2015, she released Hallucinogen, an EP which deals with the beginning, middle, and end of a relationship in reverse chronological order. Her debut studio album, Take Me Apart, was released in 2017.
Early life and education
A second-generation Ethiopian American and an only child, Kelela was born in Washington, D.C. on June 6, 1983.[4] Growing up in Gaithersburg, Maryland, she learned playing the violin in fourth grade and sang in her school's choir.[5] In 2001, she graduated from Magruder High School.[6][5] After transferring from Montgomery College to the American University, Kelela began singing jazz standards at cafés.[5] In 2008, she joined an indie band called Dizzy Spells and sang progressive metal after meeting Tosin Abasi, whom she later dated. In 2010, she moved to Los Angeles,[5] and currently lives between there and London.[7]
Career
2012–2015: Cut 4 Me and Hallucinogen
In November 2012, Kelela began work on her debut mixtape with already two recorded songs. She later quit her job as a telemarketer to fully pursue her career as a musician.[8] Having moved to Los Angeles, Kelela connected with Teengirl Fantasy and contributed to the group's 2013 album Tracer on the song "EFX", which led her to meet Prince William from the label Fade to Mind.[4] He introduced her to the sound of the record label and its sister imprint from London, Night Slugs. In May 2013, she appeared on Kingdom's "Bank Head", and five months later released her mixtape Cut 4 Me for free.[9] Harriet Gisbone of The Guardian described the mixtape as "an experiment for the production team, the first time the production crew had used vocals on their club tracks."[1] Her track "Go All Night" was included on Saint Heron, a multi-artist compilation album released by Solange Knowles.
On December 11, 2013, DJ Kitty Cash released her Love the Free mixtape, which featured Kelela's "The High". Kelela later shared the track herself on February 4, 2014, on her SoundCloud.[10] She also featured on Bok Bok's song "Melba's Call", which was released on March 5.[11] On March 3, 2015, Kelela announced the release of her first EP, Hallucinogen, alongside the release of the lead single "A Message" and its accompanying music video.[12] The second single, "Rewind", was released in September 2. The EP covers the beginning, middle, and end of a relationship in reverse chronological order.[13] It includes the previously shared "The High".
2016–present: Take Me Apart
In 2016, Kelela was featured on "A Breath Away" from Clams Casino's 32 Levels, "From the Ground" from Danny Brown's Atrocity Exhibition, and "Scales" from Solange's A Seat at the Table. In February 2017, she took part in Red Bull Sound Select's 3 Days in Miami.[14] Later that year, she featured on the track "Submission" alongside rapper Danny Brown and provided additional vocals on the track "Busted and Blue" from Gorillaz's album Humanz.
On July 14, 2017, Kelela announced her debut studio album, Take Me Apart.[15] It was made available for pre-order on August 1 alongside the release of the lead single, "LMK".[16] Three more singles preceded the album, "Frontline",[17] "Waitin"[18] and "Blue Light",[19] before it was released on October 6, 2017.[20] The album received widespread acclaim from music critics and featured on various year-end lists.[21][22]
On June 13, 2018, Girl Unit released a remix to his song "WYWD" featuring Kelela, serving as the lead single from his upcoming album, Song Feel. The two have previously worked together on Cut 4 Me's "Floor Show" and Hallucinogen's "Rewind".[23]
On September 12, 2018, Kelela announced Take Me a_Part, the Remixes, a remix album consisting of remixes from her debut album, and shared a remix for "LMK" featuring Princess Nokia, Junglepussy, Cupcakke and Ms. Boogie. The album features contributions from Kaytranada, Rare Essence, Serpentwithfeet and more.[24] On September 26, Kelela shared Kaytranada's "Waitin" remix as the second single from the album.[25] The album was released on October 5, 2018, making it a year since the release of Take Me Apart.
Personal life
Kelela openly identifies as queer.[26][27]
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [28] |
US R&B [29] |
US Heat. [30] |
US Indie [31] |
BEL (FL) [32] |
NZ Heat. [33] |
SWI [34] |
UK [35] |
UK R&B [36] | ||
Take Me Apart |
|
128 | 18 | 4 | 11 | 104 | 3 | 80 | 51 | 3 |
Remix albums
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Hallucinogen Remixes |
|
Take Me a_Part, the Remixes |
|
Mixtapes
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Cut 4 Me |
|
Extended plays
Title | Extended play details | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
US Dance [37] |
US Heat. [30] |
US Indie [31] | ||
Hallucinogen |
|
4 | 4 | 40 |
Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
BEL (FL) Tip [32] | |||
"OICU" (with P. Morris and Le1f) |
2014 | — | Non-album single |
"A Message" | 2015 | — | Hallucinogen |
"Rewind" | 33 | ||
"LMK" | 2017 | — | Take Me Apart |
"Frontline" | — | ||
"Waitin" | — | ||
"Blue Light" | — | ||
"LMK (What's Really Good)" (featuring Princess Nokia, Junglepussy, Cupcakke and Ms. Boogie) |
2018 | — | Take Me a_Part, the Remixes |
"Waitin" (Kaytranada remix)[25] | — |
Guest appearances
Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"In Tatters" | 2011 | Daedelus | Bespoke |
"EFX" | 2012 | Teengirl Fantasy | Tracer |
"Bank Head" | 2013 | Kingdom | Saint Heron |
"Go All Night" | None | ||
"Bank Head" | Kingdom | Vertical XL | |
"Melba's Call" | 2014 | Bok Bok | Your Charizmatic Self |
"With You" | Kindness | Otherness | |
"World Restart" | Kindness, Ade | ||
"Geneva" | Kindness | ||
"For the Young" | |||
"Autumn (Lude I)" | Boots | Winter Spring Summer Fall | |
"Want It" | Tink, DJ Dahi | Songs from Scratch | |
"Dangerzone" | 2015 | Future Brown, Ian Isiah | Future Brown |
"Soulful Beat" | Mocky | Key Change | |
"Weather Any Storm" | |||
"Living in the Snow" | |||
"Airy" | Obey City | Merlot Sounds | |
"A Breath Away" | 2016 | Clams Casino | 32 Levels |
"From the Ground" | Danny Brown | Atrocity Exhibition | |
"Scales" | Solange | A Seat at the Table | |
"Submission" | 2017 | Gorillaz, Danny Brown | Humanz |
"WYWD" (remix) | 2018 | Girl Unit | Song Feel |
References
- ^ a b Gibsone, Harriet (12 December 2013). "The best albums of 2013: No 7 – Cut 4 Me by Kelela". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ^ Offner, Daniel (October 11, 2015). "Just Can't Get Enough Of Kelela". Salute Magazine. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ Vain, Madison (October 17, 2017). "Kelela wants her 'empowering' music to help people find 'solace'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Kelela: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ^ a b c d Richards, Chris (14 April 2014). "Kelela: An R&B star-to-be". Style. The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Kelela's Philosophy of Love". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ Starling, Lakin (October 3, 2018). "Kelela Is Ready For You Now". The Fader.
- ^ Greeley, Shakeil (March 29, 2018). "Kelela Is Thriving in an Unkind World". GQ Magazine. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ Kellman, Andy. "Cut 4 Me - Kelela". Allmusic. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ^ "Kelela - "The High"". Stereogum. February 5, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ Frank, Alex (5 March 2014). "Video: Bok Bok feat. Kelela, "Melba's Call"". The Fader. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ^ Camp, Zoe (March 3, 2015). "Kelela Announces Hallucinogen EP, Shares Arca Collab "A Message"". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
- ^ "Album Of The Week: Kelela Hallucinogen". Stereogum. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ^ Duran, Jose D. (January 31, 2017). "Red Bull Sound Select's 3 Days in Miami Returns With Angel Olsen, Goldlink, and Kelela". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
- ^ Dandridge-Lemco, Ben (July 14, 2017). "Kelela's Debut Album Is Titled Take Me Apart". The Fader. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- ^ Moran, Justin (August 1, 2017). "Kelela Debuts 'Take Me Apart' Album Art & Lead Single". Out. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ Lozano, Kevin. ""Frontline" by Kelela Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ Starling, Lakin (October 3, 2017). "Kelela comes face to face with the past on "Waitin"". The Fader. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
It's the third single from her forthcoming debut album Take Me Apart.
- ^ McInerney, Anastasia (October 5, 2017). "kelela shares moody new track 'Blue Light'". i-D. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
the artist took to Instagram to announce a fourth single from the record titled Blue Light
- ^ "Take Me Apart by Kelela on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ "Reviews and Tracks for Take Me Apart by Kelela". Metacritic. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ "Best Of 2017: Music Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. November 27, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ Dunn, Frank (June 13, 2018). "wow! girl unit and kelela just created your 2018 summer jam". i-D. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ Yoo, Noah (September 12, 2018). "Kelela Shares New "LMK" Remix With CupcakKe, Princess Nokia, More". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
- ^ a b "KAYTRANADA_WAITIN_115 BPM - Single by Kelela & KAYTRANADA on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ Brinkhurst-Cuff, Charlie (October 14, 2017). "Kelela on the joy and pain of being a black, queer musician". Dazed. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
- ^ "KELELA – Explores The Intersections Of Being A Queer Woman Of Colour In Music (OysterMag)". The LGBT Update. May 16, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
- ^ "Kelela Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Kelela – Chart history: Top R&B Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "Kelela – Chart history: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "Kelela – Chart history: Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "Discografie Kelela". ultratop.be (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums". Official New Zealand Music Chart. October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- ^ "Discographie Kelela". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ "Kelela | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40: 13 October 2017 – 19 October 2017". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- ^ "Kelela – Chart history: Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1983 births
- 21st-century American singers
- American female singer-songwriters
- Ethiopian musicians
- American songwriters
- American electronic musicians
- American people of Ethiopian descent
- American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters
- LGBT entertainers from the United States
- LGBT musicians from the United States
- LGBT people from Washington, D.C.
- LGBT singers
- LGBT songwriters
- LGBT African Americans
- Living people
- Singers from Washington, D.C.
- Songwriters from Washington, D.C.
- Warp (record label) artists
- Women in electronic music
- 21st-century women singers