L$A shows us the other side of being a baddie
When listening to the VERVE Radio Spotify playlist one day, I came across the song “Nice to Ya” by L$A the Baddie. That first bass line immediately had me hooked, and when L$A’s vocals came through, I was enraptured.
Only when designing a post to promote the playlist on Instagram did I realise that I knew the face behind the music. I know Cape Town is small, but time and time again I’m caught off guard when I learn that someone I randomly encountered moving through the city has a whole other creative side to them.
“Nice to Ya” was only the start though, and after listening to the other four singles L$A had released I reached out to learn more about the baddie that pours her heart into her art.
Image by @_tekere and @princejjack
So, who is L$A the Baddie? Tell us your story.
“You know, I’ve always been a writer, I’ve always been a thinker. In grade 4 there was this thing called SACEE language challenge and you could do poetry as well. I would always submit my writing because I just loved the idea of making things rhyme.”
“My friends and I also used to goof around and give each other prompts to create songs around. Ironically singing isn't even why I’m drawn to music. I like writing, I like performing, I like the production, I love everything that goes into creating the song. I wouldn’t call myself a singer but I really do enjoy it.”
“I never really thought about making anything of it but back in 2020 I was chilling with a friend at their cousin’s house, both of whom were producers. He asked me to sit in the booth and just “do something” to help him test the levels of the mic. So I ended up freestyling the first verse of my first single, ‘Feel Me Up’.”
“He really loved it, and asked if I could write some more. I took my notes app out to write some more, not even thinking that it was going to get released. The whole process of mixing and mastering only took about 30 minutes, which is ridiculous! At the end of it all he says to me, “Lisa lets release this!” And that’s how L$A the Baddie was born.”
“It’s been a beautiful thing, this process of discovering what I can do. I do think I’m still learning, and I’m definitely still figuring out what my niche is but I know that it all comes from a place of honesty.”
“I don’t ever want to be doing something that doesn’t feel authentic to me, and whatever I put out at a certain point is authentic to me at that time.”
“That being said, I’m very aware of the fact that I’m constantly learning and growing.”
Image by @_tekere and @princejjack
WHat has that journey of learning and growth been like?
“The more you do it, and the more consistent you are with it, the easier it comes.”
“Being in the creative space in general is just being consistent, even if you're not consistently working. I haven’t been recording in a while, maybe like 3 weeks or so, but I still have to write every day. Even if it's four lines, you have to get your brain doing it every day.”
“Certain elements of it are talent, and interest, but the larger part of it is practice. I think that’s what a lot of creatives struggle to understand and something that I’ve only recently grasped. You need to practice. You need to be so consistent with it.”
Being a writer first and foremost, talk to us about the writing process. How do you go about writing your music?
“Ay guys, at one point, things were not going great. That’s when I was in my writing bag. I was writing like seven songs a day.”
“For me personally, a lot of where my writing comes from is experiences. Just taking the time to process those experiences, trying to understand them. Looking at my own emotions and whatever I was experiencing or didn't really have time to feel, I took the time to just write about it.”
“I think the hardest part of writing is just being honest with yourself, about how you feel. But I think that’s what makes the music good, that’s what people feel.”
One of your standout singles to us was “maybe i’ll be better when i’m older”, can you tell us how that was made?
“I thoroughly enjoyed making that one. I had met this Italian guy at work, and he mentioned that he was a producer, so we got to working together.”
“In the studio, he played this guitar loop to me. I told him to just play that on loop, and I just flowed. The original demo for the song was eight minutes! I was just getting shit off my chest!”
“I was at the beginning of what I saw could turn into a spiral. I wasn’t taking care of myself. I was hurt, and I had let go of any desire to be better. But I was sure I would get there.”
“That song was very different from the other songs that I had released, in terms of sound. I’m sure that people who listened were very confused as to who I was, what I was saying. And that’s fine, that’s okay. There was definitely a moment of “Do I really want to say this? Who’s gonna hear this?”. But sometimes you just have to say it and let it go.”
“It’s so interesting how depending on where you’re at or what you’re experiencing, you can really influence the type of music you make.”
“Which is why I can't put all my music on one project. That’s the human experience, it’s never just one thing, it varies.”
When in the studio, does the sound that you hear bring out the writing, or is it the other way around?
“I’ve realized that a lot of the artists that I know write completely differently. For me often, I’ll have written the song or written the verse and the hook, and I’ve already heard it in my head.”
“I don't often go into the studio where they’ve lined up a beat for me, I work the other way around where we always create it from scratch.”
“There are maybe one or two in the vault that I’ve done like that which will never get released, that wasn’t me, I was just doing them because I was in the space.”
“Even if I hear a loop in my head,or they play me a loop or a sample, we build off of that. It’s very organic in the way that it happens. Even with the new single that’s dropping I walked into the session and said ‘I’m in a great mood, let's make an Afrobeats song’. So that’s what we did.”
“I’m not an Afrobeats artist, I don't have a very broad understanding of the genre. I couldn’t contribute the way I normally do. But the saxophone was me! I didn’t play it but I heard the sound in my head and we spent half an hour looking for the right sample.”
Image by @_tekere and @princejjack
How has your adventure as an artist hindered or aided your personal growth?
“It’s definitely aided me. You get this itch, if I haven’t written or recorded or performed in a long time, I go crazy. If I’m grooving for no reason, then it’s a problem (laughs).”
“My journey as an artist helps keep me responsible. In general, my habits suck, but having to stay consistent by staying in the creative space helps. It also weakens your progress as a writer.”
“If I don’t practice my skill as a singer or performer it takes a lot out of me. I recently did an hour-long performance that I kind of wasn’t ready for. It was a lot of fun, but it wasn’t as easy as it should have been.”
“I like putting on a performance, and it doesn't feel like work to me, but I don't want it to get to a point that it ever does.”
Was that the Feastival performance? Can you tell us about that experience?
What a beautiful thing to have experienced. I hadn’t even applied to perform, but on the Monday before the event they reached out to me wanting to book me, which was a shock, because I hadn't done the things. Who am I to deny the universe?”
“On the same day I booked the dancers, and cobbled together a set list. Wednesday came around and they asked if I can do an hour long set instead of the half hour prepared for. I don't even have an hour’s worth of released music! Some of the songs I did were ideas that hadn’t really been completed yet, I had to sit with a producer til 2am in the morning to finish them.”
“But it worked out for the better, Because I would never have been able to test run those songs under different circumstances.”
“When it came down to it, it wasn't really about who was there, or who knew me. That for me is immaterial. The focus for me is putting on a good show and being able to say I’m proud of it.”
“The whole experience was so much fun, and I felt like an artist, I felt respected. I didn’t come to Cape town to be an artist, I came to study Law. I had always felt half-in half-out with the artistry, I wasn't sure if I was doing enough.”
“With Feastival I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be, doing exactly what I needed to be doing. My Mom even flew down, and it was nice to have her see me do what I do and understand.”
Given the four singles that you know and the work that you’re sitting on, how would you describe yourself as an artist? How would you describe your sound?
“I actually wrote this in my notes the other day. “I don't know what genre I fall into, and everyone is trying to put me in a box.”
“One thing I do know is that I make music for Bad Bitches who also cry when you raise your voice at them”. If we can make that a genre, that’s what my sound is.”
“There are elements of my personality where I’m confident and secure in who I am, knowing that it took work to get here. It's not L$A the Baddie for fun. But I can also be really sensitive and in my feelings. I really take time to feel the things I’m feeling.”
“That is not an uncommon thing. There are too many baddies in the world who all experience pain and heartbreak.”
“That’s the kind of artist I am. You will always get honesty, it really comes down to that. It’s so important to me. There are so many songs on my phone that I don't know if I’ll ever release. I feel like I’m so past that skillfully, content-wise, or even performance. But they were honest, for the time. Even if I may move past something, I don't want to throw it away.”
What kind of sound can we expect from your new single?
“With each release I find that different people become interested in my music.”
“With “Feel Me Up”, the girlies loved it. Guys too, but it was definitely Baddie central. Same with “Ready”. People that were more into R&B were very into those two. With “maybe i’ll be better when i’m older” was a more alternative crowd. “Nice To Ya” I would say is probably the crowd favourite, the easiest listen. It’s catchy, it’s sweet, it’s love man.”
“The new single, “EAST SIDE”, it’s just fun man. It's fun, it's a little naughty, it's just ‘oooh’. If you enjoyed “Feel Me Up” you’ll enjoy this one. If you like to party, if you like to dance, this one's for you.”
I may not be a bad bitch, but L$A’s music spoke to me. The honesty and authenticity struck a chord, and I’m sure they will with you too.
Whether you’re a bad bitch or not, give her a listen. Check out the visualiser for her latest single on Youtube, and give her a follow to be the first to know when it drops on digital streaming platforms.
And if you see her out and about on the town, ask her when her new music is coming. The streets need it.
We can’t speak on it yet, but big things are on the way.
