leikeli47 isn’t hiding any of her talent

Mask off? Fuck it, mask on. Rapper, producer, singer, and songwriter Leikeli47 is something like hip-hop’s answer to Sia. She has managed to carve out a niche for herself as one of today’s most exciting recording artists and performers, but if you saw her walking down the street without one her signature balaclavas on you would have no idea who she was. In the age of social media and celebrity stalking, this kind of anonymity is rare —especially for a woman artist.

Leikeli47 has also set herself apart with songs that run the gamut from trunk-rattling slappers to ballroom-ready bangers to sultry love ballads. Masks maybe her thing, but her versatility is her calling card.

Brooklyn-born and bred, Leikeli’s music takes a prismatic view of her hometown and its influences. Her widely acclaimed projects, 2017’s Wash & Set and 2018’s Acrylic, thematically cast nail parlors and hair salons in the hood as sacred spaces for the Black women who patronize them. To Leikeli47, these are places for beautification socializing and they’re a metaphor for the delicate beauty that persists even in less-than-ideal circumstances.

This year for AFROPUNK Brooklyn, Leikeli47 will rock for a hometown crowd at Commodore Barry Park in August before bringing her must-see live show to AFROPUNK ATL later this fall.

Get your tickets to see Leikeli47 at AFROPUNK BROOKLYN 2019 now.