“GAME CHANGER.”
—Wired Magazine
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
AS FEATURED ON
NPR’SMORNING EDITION“A VIBRANT,
ACTION-PACKED
SHOT OF
ADRENALINE.”
—Leigh Bardugo,
#1New York Times bestselling
author ofSix of Crows“THRILLING.”
—The Washington Post
“EXPLODING WITH
COLOR, ACTION, AND
UNRELENTING SPEED.”
—Sabaa Tahir,
#1New York Times bestselling
author ofAn Ember in the AshesKELELA IS BFFS WITH SOLANGE,
has toured with the xx, and is
a sought-after collaborator for the
likes of Gorillaz’ Damon Albarn—
and she’s only just released her
first album. But the 34-year-old
has attracted a who’s who of
tastemaking fans thanks to her
fantastical, heady fusion of R&B
and electronic music, showcased
first on her 2013 mixtape,Cut 4
Me, and now on her debut studio
album,Take Me Apart.
Touching multiple corners of
music has long been a goal for the
artist, whose full name is Kelela
Mizanekristos. After growing up
in suburban Maryland, she began
a quest to find what she describes
as “the place between Björk,
Sade, and Beyoncé.” (She teamed
up with producer Arca, a frequent
cohort of her Icelandic muse, on
her 2015 EPHallucinogen, which
landed on many critics’ best-of lists
that year.) Those artists’ meticu-
lous and fearless approaches to
their craft embolden her: “I feel
like there’s no confines.”But Kelela is aware that the
musical space she’s looking to
occupy hasn’t been explored by
many people who look like her.
As a second-generation Ethiopian-
American woman, she’s trying to
expand the canon of black musi-
cians who have infused elements
of electronic music into their
work. “My reference points for
the record are Janet [Jackson]
and Prince, Jimmy Jam and Terry
Lewis,” she explains. Her identity
also informs her approach to her
lyrics: “I’m trying to make all the
words be empowering, for women
and for black women, especially.
Even when you’re in despair and
being treated like s---, you can
still talk about that in a way where
you’re not the victim.”
Now that the years-in-the-
makingApart is finally out,
Kelela’s goal for her listeners is
simple. “I hope that they find
some solace,” she says. “Just soft-
ness and tenderness and a place
where they can feel all good
and safe and cozy.”The Far-Out
Visions of Kelela
With her debut LP,Take Me Apart, out now, the electro-R&B
adventurist is boldly going where few have gone before.
ROGER KISBY/GETTY IMAGES PORTRAIT BY MADISON VAIN