NPR Music is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a string of live concerts at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., and fortunately for anyone who isn’t located in the capital city, NPR is sharing the performances on YouTube. So far, NPR has tapped names like Amber Mark, Bartees Strange, and Yendry, and the latest addition is masked MC Leikeli47, who put on a glittering, ball-inspired performance that had the crowd voguing like an episode of Drag Race as she blazed through renditions of songs from all three of her albums, including “Wash & Set,” “BITM,” and of course, inescapable hit “Money.”
Last year, Leikeli47 saw roaring success with the release of her third album, Shape Up, which features the singles “Zoom,” “Chitty Bang,” “LL Cool J,” and “BITM,” as her public profile continued to skyrocket in spite of her apparent commitment to anonymity. She popped up on a few film soundtracks, including for the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, continued to place her songs in trailers and on television (including, yes, the season 15 premiere of the aforementioned Drag Race), and landed on many of the year’s “best of” lists, including Uproxx’s own Best Albums of 2022, all while leading a resurgence of Black presence in electronic and dance music scenes.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
Back in 2019, the fourth episode of the second season of the Black-ish spinoff Grown-ish featured the debut of Leikeli47’s video for “Tic Boom.” The lead-up to the video throughout the episode found the show’s cast preparing a watch party for a mystery artist’s video premiere, with the cast debating what makes a musical genius. The episode was an obvious reference to then-recent album premieres from the likes of Frank Ocean and Kanye West, who both got name-checked, along with Chief Keef, Drake, and Young Thug.
Then, one character makes an observation that seems obvious in hindsight but highlights an ongoing problem in pop culture – especially when it comes to hip-hop. Why are all the so-called “geniuses” men? Even now, in an era with more female rappers charting than ever before – from Cardi B and Doja Cat to Latto and Saweetie – somehow, female artists still seem to receive less attention and respect than their male counterparts. I was reminded of this over the past weekend, as my social feeds buzzed over Kendrick Lamar’s new album.
Less pronounced was the buzz for Leikeli47’s new album, Shape Up. The culmination of a beauty shop-themed trilogy including 2017’s Wash & Set and 2018’s Acrylic, on the surface, Shape Up also bears all the hallmarks of a work of rap genius. As part of a trilogy, the 14-track project comes with rich mythology of its own built by the masked rapper’s prior works. Leikeli has always defied convention, eschewing both contemporary and traditional hip-hop sounds to craft her own unique, dancefloor-ready take on the genre. She’s as informed by the drag ballroom scene as she is the trap house, with beats featuring influences from house, techno, and dancehall.
She’s also a superb rapper with one hell of a hook; taking a page from the book of the late, great MF DOOM, she has yet to make a public appearance without one of her signature face masks. She makes them herself out of bandanas and balaclavas, occasionally bedazzling or otherwise embellishing them. We don’t even know her real name; she’s like a modern-day hip-hop superhero, using her anonymity to put the focus squarely on the boundary-pushing, eclectic style she’s pioneering.
It’s hard to hear booming, confident jams like “Chitty Bang” and “LL Cool J” without wondering how they aren’t as ubiquitous as those of her female peers – let alone the breezy No. 1s accumulated by men like Drake, Future, and Jack Harlow. They’re every bit as catchy and transportive, every bit as relevant to the times, every bit as quotable and cocksure, with lines like “It’s all checks and balances, baby, the world is mine,” feeling just as much like potential Instagram captions as any of the catchphrases the above-mentioned names have offered recently.
And Leikeli can sing, too. I mean, legitimately sing, not that weird, atonal humming thing a lot of rappers have been doing in recent years. On “Done Right” and “Hold My Hand,” she switches to full-on R&B, offering tender reflections on romance and relationships minus the toxicity that’s marked the genre lately. Meanwhile, “BITM” and “Jay Walk” practically beg the listener to catwalk, strut, and vogue like it was the ball culture heyday of the late 1980s. And lest anyone doubt her rap skills, her storytelling takes the fore on “Free To Love,” while her wordplay shines on “Instant Classic.”
If this album — this consistency and cohesion in eclecticism, this total commitment to the presentation, is not the work of a genius, then the list of who all deserves such a title needs to get several dozen names shorter. If anything, the muted buzz of excitement leading up to this project’s release just proves that in hip-hop, eclecticism can be a disadvantage as much as a strength. Pushing the genre’s boundaries can earn an artist a lot of love from critics and fans, but it can just as easily take them too far beyond the margins for rap centrists who want the genre to remain the same as much as they want it to grow.
It also proves that hip-hop still has a long way to go in terms of truly including women in the conversation. Just recently, both Lil Wayne and Ja Rule admonished their peers and successors to acknowledge the contributions of women in hip-hop, with Wayne singling out Missy Elliott for her own innovative catalog. Incidentally, one of the names Leikeli47 is most often compared to is Missy (both are from Virginia, which may explain their sympathetic resonance with one another). Sometimes, it feels very much like we’ve failed the latter, who only recently began to receive flowers in the form of lifetime achievement awards and belated shout-outs from the rappers she’s inspired. The same can’t happen for Leikeli47. They say genius is never appreciated in its time, but today, we certainly have the opportunity to acknowledge her as the genius she’s already proven herself to be.
Leikeli47’s upcoming album Shape Up is one of Uproxx’s most anticipated hip-hop albums of spring 2022, and the masked MC dropped by The Tonight Show studio to show why. Wearing a pink Celine sweatshirt with her customary Nike Air Maxes and bandana balaclava, she performed a fiery rendition of the album’s lead single “Chitty Bang” in a stripped-down set backed by her DJ/hype man, who you may know as former annual “Rap Up” rapper Skillz(!).
The Virginia rapper — Leikeli, not Skillz — took a long and well-deserved break after her last album, 2018’s Acrylic. She reappeared in the summer of 2020 with “Zoom,” ostensibly the first single from her comeback album. However, it seemed she wanted to perfect the album in question, heading back to the studio for another year and a half before returning with “Chitty Bang” in January this year. Shortly afterward, she announced the release date for Shape Up (May 13) with the single “BITM.” The most recently released single, “LL Cool J,” continued Leikeli’s tradition of mystery. Now, with the album right around the corner, it’s time to see whether Shape Up is worth the wait — and judging from the output so far, it should be.
Watch Leikeli47 perform “Chitty Bang” on The Tonight Show above.
What a year in hip-hop 2022 has already been. This year started with a bang thanks to new album releases from Gunna (DS4EVER), Cordae (From A Bird’s Eye View), and Earl Sweatshirt (Sick!). As the year continued, the big-name releases picked up momentum, with new albums from Saba (Few Good Things), 2 Chainz (Dope Don’t Sell Itself), $not (Ethereal), Big KRIT (Digital Roses Don’t Die), Earthgang (Ghetto Gods), and Conway The Machine (God Don’t Make Mistakes). That momentum has carried over into the beginning of spring, with King Von (What It Means To Be King), BabyTron (Megatron), Lil Durk (7220), Fly Anakin (Frank), Phife Dawg (Forever), Denzel Curry (Melt My Eyez, See Your Future), Buddy (Superghetto), and Latto (777) all contributing to the absolute mayhem that marked the first quarter of rap releases.
All that, and we still haven’t heard from heavy-hitters like JID, Kendrick Lamar, or Nicki Minaj, although increased activity from two of the three suggests that new albums may very well be dropping soon. For now, we’ll just focus on the albums we know are dropping (or have dropped — April 8 turned out to be a monster release day as well). And look, there’s no accounting for taste or surprise releases; your underground fave may not appear here but that doesn’t mean we aren’t always looking out to be pleasantly shocked by a relative newcomer or dark horse viral popup. Here are the most anticipated hip-hop albums of spring 2020.
Coi Leray — Trendsetter
The 2021 XXL Freshman had a stellar year in the wake of her breakout track, “No More Parties.” Following up with strong viral faves like “Twinnem” and “Blick Blick,” Coi proved she’s no one-hit-wonder. Trendsetter looks to bring some color and life to the rap game, bending the genre’s established tropes and throwing expectations for female rappers completely out the window.
Dreezy & Hit-Boy — Hit Girl
As the Chicago veteran — yes, she’s a vet, as she first emerged during the drill rap explosion of 2012 — aims to make her resurgence, she’s picked the perfect partner. Hit-Boy managed to jumpstart the career of rap icon Nas; if anyone can help Dreezy with her relaunch, it’s him. They’ve already made significant headway to that effect with the slick comeback singles “COVID Flow Freestyle” and “They Not Ready,” and honestly, no one could be happier about this than me.
Fivio Foreign — B.I.B.L.E.
When Pop Smoke was killed in 2020, the torch of the oncoming New York drill wave, seemingly passed to Fivio — Pop’s closest collaborator — by default. At times, it seemed uncertain whether he was ready for it, or whether he even wanted it. Yet, in the year and change since, we’ve seen Fivio take some laudable leaps as an artist. His notoriety has certainly increased as well, resulting in collaborations with big names like Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting to see what he does with it and whether he can blow some fresh wind into the movement’s flagging sails on B.I.B.L.E.
Jack Harlow — Come Home The Kids Miss You
Harlow’s new album’s title may be a mouthful, but the cocky Louisvillain has certainly earned some latitude to take a few left turns. Just check out “Nail Tech” and “First Class,” which have been stark departures from the upbeat, syllable-a-second breakout single “What’s Poppin’.” Jack promises more introspective material on his latest, but as it turns out, he’s not above relishing in his newfound success either.
The California supergroup consisting of E-40, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Too Short couldn’t have come together at a better time. All four rappers are independent and all four have been around the block a few times since they all emerged in the late-80s/early-90s. They’ve got the experience and wisdom of age, but also share a youthful enthusiasm for hip-hop and rap, and from the two singles they’ve released so far, they clearly enjoy working together and inspire each other in a way that has them all sounding more engaged than ever.
Pusha T — It’s Almost Dry
Once again, it’s time to see how many ways Pusha can make the same material sound brand new all over again. If anyone’s up to the challenge, it’s the guy who managed to sneak a cocaine reference into a fast-food jingle and unearthed a near-decade-old beat from 88 Keys’ stores. He even got Jay-Z to rap like he means it again. Push’s last effort, 2018’s Daytona, was universally acclaimed; could it be he has another consensus critical favorite up his sleeve?
Vince Staples — Ramona Park Broke My Heart
In all his years in the rap game, the Long Beach rapper has been a contrarian, an iconoclast, and someone who was singularly disinterested in the trappings of fame, let alone being a working musician aspiring to it. For the first time, it seems like he’s letting his guard down, demystifying his biography, and actually making music for the masses to enjoy. When Earl Sweatshirt did it, we got Sick! When Vince does it, we just might get another masterpiece.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
