MUSIC – LIZZO

“I don’t think that loving yourself is a choice. I think that it’s a decision that has to be made for survival”

34-year-old talented rapper and singer-songwriter Lizzo is a four-time Grammy Award winner with multiple smash hit songs including Good as Hell, Truth Hurts and Juice.  Her uplifting lyrics, positive messages and empowerment resonate with audiences globally and she has become a popular influencer on social media, promoting self-love and body positivity. Lizzo is on tour and is performing at the iconic Glastonbury festival this year.

Background

Melissa Viviane Jefferson was born on April 27^th, 1988, in Detroit, Michigan – the youngest of three children. By the age of ten, she and her family had moved to Houston where she classically trained as a flutist until graduating high school. Although the flute was her focus she enjoyed rapping and writing, early on forming the music group Cornrow Clique with friends. Her nickname Lizzo came from a variant of Lissa, said to be partly inspired by a Jay-Z track called Izzo.

Lizzo studied classical music at the University of Houston before dropping out to get into the music industry. Her family had relocated to Denver, and when Lizzo was 20, her father died. Lizzo lived out of her car or slept on the floor of her recording studio for a year as she tried to break into the music industry, eventually moving to Minneapolis.

Career

It was in Minneapolis that Lizzo’s music career seriously started, performing with girl groups GRRRL PRTY and Chalice.   She brought out her first solo album Lizzobangers in 2013 on an independent label, touring the UK and US to promote this.

Lizzo caught the attention of Minneapolis rock legend Prince, and was on his 2014 album Plectrumelectrum and performed at his parties.  

Her second album, 2015’s 12 track Big Grrrl Small World was a success. Many lyrics talked about her experiences of being a black plus-size woman, and the opinions of other people around that, her openness and powerful messages resonated with fans as a positive role model.   

Signing with American Atlantic Records and in 2016 after moving to LA, she released an EP Coconut Oil and started hosting a live music show on MTV.

2017 brought a slight confidence dip with the single Truth Hurts not doing well, the song was said to have been written during a difficult time for Lizzo and with it not being a success, she even thought about giving up her music.

Thankfully she kept going and in 2019 released the album Cuz I Love You, a critically and commercially acclaimed hit record full of dance tunes and ballads which smashed into the US Billboard Top Ten.

The album included such titan singles as Juice and Good as Hell, both going platinum, and her tour sold out. It was then that the single Truth Hurts came into its own when featured in a trailer for the Netflix film Someone Great, and became a platinum hit.  That same year Lizzo performed with Janelle Monáe at Coachella and collaborated with Charli XCX on the single Blame It on Your Love.

Lizzo and Cardi B brought out the single Rumors in 2021, it generated some negative feedback on social media to which Lizzo responded by explaining how hurtful and wrong this was.

The latest album Special came out in 2022 going into the top ten in many countries, following the first number-one single from the album About Damn Time. Lizzo is on a huge tour alongside the new album.

Body positivity and inclusivity

Vegan Lizzo has millions of TikTok and Instagram followers and engages with her fans, she is passionate about inclusivity, body confidence and self-empowerment. Lizzo has an Emmy Award-winning reality show Watch Out for the Big Grrrls on Amazon, showing Lizzo’s search for plus-size dancers to join her tour and in 2022 she brought out a range of inclusive shapewear with Fabletics named Yitty.

Acting and TV

Lizzo also had a role in the movie Hustlers, voiced a character in the movie Ugly Dolls and made a documentary Love, Lizzo. She’s been a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Awards

Lizzo won her fourth Grammy in February – the 2023 Grammy Award Record of the Year for her single About Damn Time.

Inspirations and influences

Lizzo grew up in a family of different music tastes, with her mother’s love of the Gospel and her father’s favourites Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Billy Joel. Lizzo has cited Missy Elliott and Prince as inspirations, and Beyonce – who she has called the artist of our lives.

Personal Life

Lizzo is said to be in a relationship with Myke Wright, they were seen on the red carpet at the Grammy’s with Lizzo looking beautiful in a stunning bright flower embellished dress.

Lizzo’s Famous Flute

Lizzo continues her classical flute playing, hitting headlines in October 2022, playing a 200-year-old crystal flute on stage at a concert in Washington DC which had been given to former American president James Madison in 1813.

Her own signature flute is famous, it has a name and an Instagram account – Sasha Flute, named after Beyonce’s alter ego – @sashabefluting.