Biography
Brooklyn rapper Leikeli47 fuses hip-hop, R&B, and house into rhyme schemes and productions that range from irresistibly catchy to boldly experimental. Across her series of mixtapes, EPs, and the three albums that form her “Beauty Series”—Wash & Set in 2017, Acrylic in 2018, and Shape Up in 2022—she documented the full spectrum of her life as a Black woman, from empowerment and humor to sorrow and reflection, all while wearing a signature ski mask so the music itself would remain the center of attention. On the 2025 project Lei Keli ft. 47 / For Promotional Use Only, she stepped forward without that mask, letting her range and energy take the spotlight.
Although she spent her childhood in Virginia and later Brooklyn, Leikeli was a quiet, isolated target of bullying; nonetheless she recognized her desire to create music while still very young. Early influences such as N.E.R.D, Lauryn Hill, Lil’ Kim, Wu-Tang, and Jay-Z led her to start composing tracks in the early 2000s, constructing beats from whatever was at hand—including one instance when she tapped rhythms on a microphone’s pop filter. After uploading material online in 2009, she issued the self-produced mixtape LK-47, Pt. I in 2010 and followed it with the 2013 EP The Flower Shop as Told by Brett Elway. By the arrival of LK-47, Pt. II in 2014, she had already performed as an opener for Skrillex and Diplo at Madison Square Garden.
Once she joined RCA, Leikeli47 issued a self-titled EP on the label. She also appeared on tracks by Baauer (“Day Ones”), AlunaGeorge (“Mean What I Mean”), and Pussy Riot (“Straight Outta Vagina”), while Jay-Z placed her single “Fuck the Summer Up” on his 2015 playlist of the same name. That same year brought LK-47, Pt. III. Several of her recordings featured on the soundtrack to HBO’s Insecure in 2017, the year she also delivered her RCA debut album Wash & Set. The opening chapter of a trilogy centered on beauty, empowerment, and identity, the album earned acclaim for its sharp lyricism and wide-ranging sonic palette. Later in 2017 she shared the stage with Pharrell at ComplexCon.
Leikeli47 followed with Acrylic in November 2018, a tougher collection shaped by producers Clyde N Harry, Charlie Burrill, Mike Barney, and Gavin Williams. She backed the release with her first headlining tour and previewed the next album via the August 2020 single “Zoom.” Shape Up, the concluding part of the “Beauty Series,” arrived in May 2022. Harold Lilly served as executive producer while Barney, Bah, and additional contributors joined Leikeli on the boards; the album moved between exuberant anthems and intimate ballads and included a guest spot from fashion-runway coach Miss J. Alexander. That December she released the single “Impossible Things,” built around a sample of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” In October 2024 Leikeli47 unveiled “450,” the opening single from her fourth album, Lei Keli ft. 47 / For Promotional Use Only. Marking the first material created without her mask, the 2025 record was assembled by the same core team responsible for her earlier full-lengths.
Although she spent her childhood in Virginia and later Brooklyn, Leikeli was a quiet, isolated target of bullying; nonetheless she recognized her desire to create music while still very young. Early influences such as N.E.R.D, Lauryn Hill, Lil’ Kim, Wu-Tang, and Jay-Z led her to start composing tracks in the early 2000s, constructing beats from whatever was at hand—including one instance when she tapped rhythms on a microphone’s pop filter. After uploading material online in 2009, she issued the self-produced mixtape LK-47, Pt. I in 2010 and followed it with the 2013 EP The Flower Shop as Told by Brett Elway. By the arrival of LK-47, Pt. II in 2014, she had already performed as an opener for Skrillex and Diplo at Madison Square Garden.
Once she joined RCA, Leikeli47 issued a self-titled EP on the label. She also appeared on tracks by Baauer (“Day Ones”), AlunaGeorge (“Mean What I Mean”), and Pussy Riot (“Straight Outta Vagina”), while Jay-Z placed her single “Fuck the Summer Up” on his 2015 playlist of the same name. That same year brought LK-47, Pt. III. Several of her recordings featured on the soundtrack to HBO’s Insecure in 2017, the year she also delivered her RCA debut album Wash & Set. The opening chapter of a trilogy centered on beauty, empowerment, and identity, the album earned acclaim for its sharp lyricism and wide-ranging sonic palette. Later in 2017 she shared the stage with Pharrell at ComplexCon.
Leikeli47 followed with Acrylic in November 2018, a tougher collection shaped by producers Clyde N Harry, Charlie Burrill, Mike Barney, and Gavin Williams. She backed the release with her first headlining tour and previewed the next album via the August 2020 single “Zoom.” Shape Up, the concluding part of the “Beauty Series,” arrived in May 2022. Harold Lilly served as executive producer while Barney, Bah, and additional contributors joined Leikeli on the boards; the album moved between exuberant anthems and intimate ballads and included a guest spot from fashion-runway coach Miss J. Alexander. That December she released the single “Impossible Things,” built around a sample of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” In October 2024 Leikeli47 unveiled “450,” the opening single from her fourth album, Lei Keli ft. 47 / For Promotional Use Only. Marking the first material created without her mask, the 2025 record was assembled by the same core team responsible for her earlier full-lengths.
Albums
Lei Keli ft. 47 / For Promotional Use Only
2025
The Wave
2024
Shape Up
2022
Acrylic
2018
Wash & Set
2017
Leikeli47
2015
Singles
