Love Child
Mabel may have been born to
musical parents, but as her
debut album shows, her talent
is all her own.
PARADISE FOUND
THE SINGER (LEFT),
WHOSE ALBUM
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
AND MIXTAPE IVY TO
ROSES ARE FILLED
WITH POP AND R&B
ANTHEMS.
TALENT Lots of children stage performances in the family
sitting room, but few appear before the caliber
of audience that Mabel—the youngest daughter of Massive
Attack producer Cameron McVey and Swedish hitmaker
Neneh Cherry—took for granted. “Whenever I knew my
parents had friends coming round, I’d be like, ‘Okay, tonight
I’m going to do a show,’ ” recalls the singer, whose uncle is
Eagle-Eye Cherry and godfather is Michael Stipe.
Today, of course, Mabel, who was nominated for British
Breakthrough Act at this year’s BRIT Awards, is used
to much larger audiences. She’s already conquered a slew
of screaming arenas in Europe and will soon headline in
the U.S. “I’m like, ‘Sick, let’s do that,’ ” she says, whenever
an opportunity to perform presents itself. “I want as many
people as possible to listen to my songs.” Anyone who’s
even passed by a club this year probably already has: Mabel,
whose debut album, High Expectations, was released this
summer, specializes in the sort of anthemic R&B tunes
that DJs can rely on to get even the deadest of dance floors
shaking. Her over-it-all single “Don’t Call Me Up” is thus
far the top-selling single by a U.K. female artist of 2019.
We are meeting in a quiet corner of Peckham Levels, a
multistory car park turned Instagrammable arts venue
in South London. Mabel, who shot an early music video in
the building’s neon-pink stairwell, has dressed TALENT>104
102 OCTOBER 2019 VOGUE.COM
SIMONE BEYENE
VLIFE
