Today Lex is joined by a UK artist at possibly quite a pivotal point in her career. Her name is Bellah and after releasing music for a couple of years, last year she delivered an EP called The Art of Conversation that made everyone’s ears prick up. 

Having been spotted by management at a local festival, where she was flanked by a full squad pot dancers Bellah is someone who is that special combination of huge dreamer a sharp pragmatism to create those dreams, something I think you’ll get a sense of as she chats through her journey and the things which have shaped her.

Bellah on the Hot Girls Podcast.

Bellah Handles:

@IBeBellah

Lex Handles:

@LexOnTheDecks

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Today Lex is boosted by the energy of Alicai Harley, a UK Dancehall top shotter. 

Alicai’s career accelerated fast after a friend suggested she challenge herself to write, record and shoot a new video every week. She was like umm OK, I have no money or resources but let’s try. In the 10th week she recorded a song which got picked up, signed and changed her life, racking up millions of streams and views on YouTube. 

Since then she has not stopped and through this 40minute conversation she shares that journey, pulling back the curtain on the resilience she’s needed and also saying thank you to God for the blessings and the support in the trying times. 

With a new EP out, this is Alicai Harley on the Hot Girls Podcast.

Alicai Handles:

@alicaiharley

Lex Handles:

@lexonthedecks

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Hot Girl History: Queen Latifah

While a lot of the women I’ve explored throughout this series have worked in film or TV in some capacity, very few have done both with the consistency and execution that today’s artist has. In 2002 she became a household name among a new generation after being cast and receiving an Oscar nomination for her performance as Matron Mama Morton in the film version of Chicago. Quite an achievement for someone who’s her first role in the entertainment industry was as a rapper. And a bloody good one. 

Queen Latifah is often considered the ultimate hip-hop feminist, and throughout the next 15minutes or so I’m going to show you how she did what she did, why I want artists to be inspired by her now and why we should pay homage. 

This is a lesson in fortitude, by Queen Latifah.

Queen Latifah Handles:

@queenlatifah

Lex Handles:

@lexonthedecks

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Hot Girl History: Kelis

This is the first Hot Girl History Episode of Season 3 and I wanted to open up by looking in depth at an artist who arrived on the scene with one of the loudest and most unconventional hits I can think of. Since her debut single she’s spent more than 20years at the top of the game, consistently pushing music forwards and defying expectations of what it means to be a black female artist. 

Her first album was exclusively produced by The Neptunes, and since then she’s put out a new album every 3-4years. I’m talking about Kelis. She’s a creator and a professional. An artist who did not ever conform to the popstar ideal, was and still is very much her own person, causing much confusion and a little infamy. She’s almost like an indie star who made it mainstream and made indie weirdness cool.

Kelis is evidence that you can be a marketing nightmare and still be very successful. i-D magazine recently described her as “perpetually misunderstood”, and I’m hoping over the next 15mins you’ll start to understand her perhaps a little better. 

Today’s artist is Kelis, and this episode will explore what she taught me about expression. 

Kelis Handles:

Twitter - @Kelis

Instagram - @Kelis

Lex Handles:

Twitter - @lexonthedecks

Instagram - @lexonthedecks

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This week, Lex is joined by Rachel Foxx. Rachel is one of a brilliant number of women formulating the sounds of UK jazz influenced alt RnB. She has this rich satiny voice, and ability to blend new ideas and vocal arrangements, with classic instrumental sounds. 

Having been building her visibility and following in the industry for a few years she’s had to take a different approach to releasing this year as performing was ripped away. 

Rachel made me lol with the challenges she’s been working through, and also shared some great advice that she’s learnt over the past few years - it’s an energising conversation to kick off the year.

Lex x

Rachel Handles:

Insta: @rachelfoxxinc

Twitter: @RACHELFOXXINC

Lex Handles:

Insta: @lexonthedecks

Twitter: @lexonthedecks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the final episode of Season 2, we bring a long and in depth conversation with the phenomenal, Ultra Naté. A woman who's been inspired by so many different artists and genres and different times, allowing her to blend seamlessly into different scenes and deliver some of the most iconic and recognisable tracks of all time.

Ultra Naté Handles:

IG - @ultranatemusic

Twitter - @ultranatemusic

Lex Handles:

Twitter - @lexonthedecks

Instagram - @lexonthedecks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An artist who's not quite Dancehall, and not quite Reggae. Koffee had one of the fastest rises to Global success I've ever seen. Here we explore how she navigated the industry and how gratitude helped her get to where she has.

Koffee Handles:

Instagram - @originalkoffee

Hot Girls Handles:

Mixes - https://soundcloud.com/lexonthedecks/sets/hot-girls-the-mixes

Playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0M8WInsGc6kYGht82WXPgz

Insta - @LexOnTheDecks

Twitter - @LexOnTheDecks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Lex chats with Natalie Worgs. As the founder of gIRLS aBOUT pECKHAM Natalie takes an intimate look at the area she's from and celebrates the individuals within it. Through her instagram, fundraising competitions and zine, she brings together key members of this creative hub to retain its energy amongst huge shifts triggered by gentrification. This is an intimate conversation about society.

GAP Handles:

Insta: @girlsaboutpeckham

Twitter: @girlsaboutpeck1

Lex Handles:

Twitter: @lexonthedecks

Instagram: @lexonthedecks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I wanted to look at someone who I have huge personal admiration for. She’s someone who has had great commercial success, longevity, and hits a consistent bar with her music, but I don’t necessarily hear her shouted out that often as an inspiration. I guess I wanted to just challenge that and remind people of her greatness. As well as exploring the career journey she’s had and how her self-belief has been fundamental in maintaining that. The success I mentioned includes 3, top 3 albums, 4x grammy nominations, over 8million monthly Spotify listeners, video views of over 1.5billion, and the longest-running number-one debut single by a female artist in the past 30years. 

The artist is Ciara, and this episode will explore what she taught me about self-belief.

Ciara Handles:

Insta: @ciara

Twitter: @ciara

Hot Girls Handles:

Mixes - https://soundcloud.com/lexonthedecks/sets/hot-girls-the-mixes

Playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0M8WInsGc6kYGht82WXPgz

Insta - @LexOnTheDecks

Twitter - @LexOnTheDecks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hot Girls: Intimate and Entertaining Conversations about Creativity and the Music Industry

This week Lex chats to Jelani Blackman. Having spent years creating music for fun with friends, Jelani's musical journey changed almost overnight, when Noisy (Vice) shared an early track he created. From there he was signed to a record label in LA and had a few years releasing EPs, working to establish really what sound was authentic and right for him. This year he's released multiple singles, inc. P2P with Big Zuu, featured on Fire in the Booth, amassed over a million streams on his Colours x Studio performance, and is just getting started...

Head over to YouTube to see the videos for Colours, Nobody's Son, and check out new single "Foolish" on all streaming platforms now.

Jelani Handles

Insta: @jelaniblackman

Twitter: @Jelani_Blackman

Lex Handles:

Twitter: @lexonthedecks

Instagram: @lexonthedecks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.