If you’re not familiar with Lizzo yet, you should expect to see her name a lot more because she is quickly becoming one of the biggest names in music this year.
The American singer and rapper, whose real name is Melissa Jefferson, released her third studio album, Cuz I Love You, in April, and it quickly climbed the charts.
On July 29, the 31-year-old singer gave her own Tiny Desk performance at NPR. The live concert video series was started by NPR Music in 2008, and other artists such as Adele, Erykah Badu and H.E.R. have taken part in the series.
Lizzo opened her Tiny Desk performance by asking: “How we feelin’ at this, uh, tiny-a– desk?”
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For those who are not familiar with the Truth Hurts rapper, here’s everything you need to know.
Most popular Lizzo songs
In January 2019, Lizzo made her Billboard R&B chart debut with her single Juice.
Lizzo’s third studio album, Cuz I Love You, includes hits such as Juice, Truth Hurts and Tempo. The album debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart.
In May, Lizzo received her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 when Truth Hurts debuted at No. 50 on the chart
She originally released Truth Hurts in September 2017, but it received a lot of attention after it was featured in Netflix’s Someone Great, starring Gina Rodriguez, DeWanda Wise and Brittany Snow.
Prior to Cuz I Love You, Lizzo released her EP, Coconut Oil in 2016, Big Grrrl Small World in 2015 and Lizzobangers in 2013.
She won Best Female Hip-Hop Artist at the 2019 BET Awards and is nominated for Best New Artist and Push Artist of the Year at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards.
Lizzo worked with the late Prince, collaborating with the Purple Rain singer on his 2014 album Plectrumelectrum on the song BoyTrouble.
Where did she grow up?
This breakout star lived in Detroit, Mich., for the first 10 years of her life before moving to Houston, Texas.
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She returned to Detroit on July 27 for the Mo Pop Festival, where she played an hour-long show at the River Stage at West Riverfront Park.
The Tempo rapper got choked up when she was telling the crowd about spotting a Detroit billboard with her image on it.
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“I thought of my father and how proud he would be of me right now,” she said, wiping away tears. Her father, Michael Jefferson, died while the singer was in college.
“I’m not the flashiest type — I do this for the love of music,” she said. “I want to make the world a better place.”
“In Detroit-versus-everybody, Detroit always wins!” she shouted.
Who are the “Lizzbians?”
Lady Gaga has her “Little Monsters,” Justin Bieber has his “Beliebers,” Beyoncé has her “Bey Hive” — and Lizzo has her “Lizzbians.”
Since releasing her album this year, Lizzo’s concerts have been selling out thanks to her “Lizzbians.”
In June, Lizzo responded to a fan on Twitter who wrote: “Whatever you call Lizzo stans, I’m that.”
Lizzo responded: “Lizzbians.”
She can play the flute
The Good As Hell singer is a classically trained flute player.
Lizzo studied classical flute performance and was in the marching band in college at the University of Houston.
Lizzo often plays the flute during her live performances.
In an interview with The Cut earlier this year, Lizzo said “the flute chose her” in sixth grade and that she’s been playing ever since.
Body positivity and self-love
The Jerome hitmaker opened up about her body confidence in May.
Lizzo thinks her own body is “f—ing beautiful” and always likes the way she looks.
She said: “I love my body. No matter what angle you shoot it at … my body is just so f—ing beautiful all the time.
“I may talk s–t about it sometimes, but f–k. She’s still a bad b—h.”
However, Lizzo admitted it took her some time to feel so confident.
She said: “I felt this with how I was being perceived for much of my life.
“Until I was like, f–k it. I just need to be undeniable. It’s not about me being big. It’s about me being me. Y’all are going to get this bad b—h. You are going to get these bops and get this show. And you are going to get your life by receiving it.”
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Lizzo voiced the character Lydia in UglyDolls and hits theatres next with Hustlers, the stripper heist movie starring Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Cardi B, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart and Julia Stiles.
WATCH: ‘Hustlers’ trailer
Hustlers, directed by Lorene Scafaria, is based on an article titled “The Hustlers at Scores” by Jessica Pressler, which chronicles the real-life “modern Robin Hood story” of a ring of strippers who ripped off wealthy clients, according to Variety.
Hustlers twerks into theatres on Sept. 13.
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