There was never really any question about whether Lola would become a singer. She started writing poetry and songs aged 11, before doing her first pub gig at 13. She enrolled into the prestigious Brit school and released her debut full-length, Intro, aged just 19. She comes from a musical and creative family; born in Croydon to a Jamaican-Chinese father and English mother, and raised in Beckenham, South-East London, she grew up listening to Avril Lavigne and Eminem, later finding herself drawn to the likes of D’Angelo, Prince and Joni Mitchell. She has one of those voices. You know, the ones that are impossible to ignore: made for smoky dark clubs as much as hushed arenas, it’s got a depth, rawness and huskiness that reduces crowds to pin-drop silence. Dealing with themes such as love bombing, gaslighting, body image and depression among others, Lola has music for any young person growing up today. While ballads are undoubtedly her thing, there’s a distinctly London edge to Lola’s music, bolstered by her love of old hip hop and UK rap.