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Lady LeshurrBEM
Lady Leshurr performing at Field Day 2017
Background information
Birth name	Melesha Katrina O'Garro
Born	(1987-12-15) 15 December 1987 (age 37)
Origin	Kingshurst, Solihull, England
Genres	Hip hop grime dancehall
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter record producer
Years active	2009–present
Labels	RCA Sony Unleshed Records

Melesha Katrina O'Garro BEM (born 15 December 1987), known professionally as Lady Leshurr (/ˈliːʃər/), is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. She is known for her Queen's Speech series of freestyles, the fourth of which became popular in 2016. Her subsequent freestyle, Queen's Speech 5, was called "brilliant" and "2015's crowning freestyle" by Spin. In 2021, she entered the Channel 4 series The Celebrity Circle for Stand Up to Cancer, catfishing as Big Narstie, and won. She also competed in the thirteenth series of Dancing on Ice, where she reached the semi-final.

Early life

Melesha Katrina O'Garro was born on 15 December 1987 to Kittitian parents. She became interested in poetry and writing at the age of six, but decided that writing music would bring her to a wider audience. She released her first mixtape at the age of fourteen. In her words:

I grew up around music. My mum used to play a lot of reggae like Sister Nancy and Bob Marley around the house so basically, when I was around six, I was messing about and doing my own little raps and songs. My family are all rappers and singers anyway so I was always involved in it from a young age.

— Lady Leshurr, 2011

Career

Leshurr played one of the lead female roles in Vertigo Films' 2009 film 1 Day. In 2010 Leshurr's first television music video appearance came in the music video 'Game Over Female Takeover', featuring Amplify Dot, Mz Bratt, Ruff Diamondz and others. The music video was directed by Nick Donnelly and produced by Carla Marie Williams. Leshurr won second place in the Best Female category of the Official Mixtape Awards 2011. To complement the music releases, she has designed a range of merchandise, the "Friggin L" clothing line named after her 2011 mixtape Friggin L.

In 2016, she won the MOBO Award, celebrating excellence in black music, for Best Female Act. In 2019, she won the award for "Best Rap / Grime Act" and in 2020 she won "Best Solo Female" at the Birmingham Music Awards. In 2019, Leshurr performed at The Nicki Wrld Tour in Birmingham and Manchester as a special guest for rapper Nicki Minaj.

She was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.

In 2020, she appeared in a commercial advertising for beauty brand Olay and became the first Black British woman to lead a campaign for the company.

In late 2020, it was announced that Lady Leshurr would be joining the line-up at BBC Radio 1Xtra with her own Saturday afternoon radio show. In February 2023, it was announced that she would be replaced by Joelah Noble as presenter of the Saturday afternoon show.

In 2021, she appeared as a contestant on the thirteenth series of Dancing on Ice, partnered with Brendyn Hatfield. After surviving three skate-offs during the competition, Leshurr was eliminated in the semi-final, leaving her in fourth place. She also won The Celebrity Circle for Stand Up to Cancer.

In 2021, Leshurr announced a partnership with Kamo Premium Vodka, through which she became a co-owner.

In April and August 2022, Leshurr appeared as a guest panellist on the ITV show Loose Women.

Influences

Leshurr has named Eminem, Busta Rhymes, Ms. Dynamite, Missy Elliott and Lil Wayne as her primary influences. Nia Kay, a competitor on The Rap Game season 2, stated that Leshurr was one of her influences due to her uniqueness and rap skill.

Personal life

Leshurr came out as pansexual in September 2018.

In late 2019 Leshurr took time out from her music career following the death of her sister from breast cancer.

On 22 October 2022, Leshurr and Sherelle Smith allegedly assaulted Leshurr's ex-girlfriend Sidnee Hussein and Hussein's new girlfriend Chante Boyea. She was charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and Smith was charged with one count of the same offence. Both women pleaded not guilty to their charges and were bailed. Twelve months later, the pair were found not guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court. The prosecution said that Leshurr had bitten Boyea's hand, while the defence said that Leshurr had been bitten by Boyea's Belgian Shepherd dog. After her acquittal, Leshurr said that her career had been ruined due to loss of deals and income because of the charges.

Discography

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. ^ "Dancing On Ice Lady Leshurr: Real Name, Most Famous Songs And Instagram Handle". Capital FM. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
2. ^ "Lady Leshurr". SXSW. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
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5. "Lady Leshurr: 7 interesting facts about the 'Queen's Speech' rapper". What's Good?. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
6. Carley, Brennan Lady Leshurr's Brilliant 'Queen's Speech 5' Is 2015's Crowning Freestyle Archived 1 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine Spin. 30 December 2015
7. Leshurr, Lady (15 December 2021). "happy bday to me". Instagram. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
8. "Melesha Katrina O'GARRO". gov.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
9. ^ "Lady Leshurr: 'The industry just doesn't know what to do with women'". The Guardian. 20 April 2013. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
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12. Anderson, Errol. "Lady Leshurr: The female Busta Rhymes". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
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15. "Lady Leshurr unleashes Friggin L Mixtape". SoulCulture. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
16. "No. 63142". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B74.
17. Adejobi, Alicia (23 June 2020). "Lady Leshurr defends Olay advert after trolls question her 'integrity'". Metro. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
18. "Nadia Jae announced as new 1Xtra Breakfast Show presenter". BBC News. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
19. "Reece Parkinson to leave BBC Radio 1Xtra and Lady Leshurr replaced". BBC News. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
20. "Dancing On Ice fans devastated as Lady Leshurr is 'unfairly' axed ahead of final". Daily Mirror. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
21. "Lady Leshurr Loves Lil Wayne". MTV. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
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24. Johnson, Shakeena (21 September 2018). "Lady Leshurr comes out as pansexual: "If you can't take me for who I am then you can leave"". Gay Times. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
25. "Blush Winter 2021". Blush Magazine. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
26. "Lady Leshurr assaulted ex-girlfriend, court hears". BBC News. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
27. "Lady Leshurr says her career is ruined following assault case". BBC News. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
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30. "2012 Official Mixtape Awards". {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
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32. "Etta Bond featuring Lady Leshurr – Boring Bitches". Soundophiles.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
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34. "UK Chart > New Entries: 12 December 2012". zobbel.de. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
35. "Tiggs Da Author - Run (Official Video) ft. Lady Leshurr". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
36. "Pretty Little Thing (feat. Lady Leshurr, Lioness & Ms Banks) - Single by will.i.am". iTunes Store. Apple. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
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38. "That Sp Compilation, Vol. 1 - EP by Various Artists on iTunes". 19 September 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
39. "Rock Till We Drop". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2022.

External links

• Lady Leshurr at IMDb

• 1987 births
• Black British women rappers
• 21st-century Black British women singers
• 21st-century English LGBTQ people
• British hip-hop singers
• English people of Saint Kitts and Nevis descent
• Grime music artists
• Living people
• English LGBTQ singers
• LGBTQ rappers
• Recipients of the British Empire Medal
• Pansexual musicians
• Black British LGBTQ people
• People acquitted of assault