Brooklyn-born Laila! is a one girl band. The 19-year-old polymath writes, produces, and sings, and has already crafted an oeuvre that is at once nostalgic and refreshing. A lifelong listener of R&B greats from Whitney Houston to Aaliyah and Brandy, Laila! has been composing her own songs for as long as she can remember, but it wasn’t until an extended stint on her family’s native island of Saint Thomas—at the height of the pandemic and when Laila! had just started high school—that she began creating her own beats. Later, she would release “Like That!,” a buoyant but soulful ballad that locates her sound in the company of experimental voices such as SZA and Brent Faiyaz.
In September 2024, she released her debut album Gap Year, a bold and deeply personal collection of songs that trace the emotional highs and lows of young adulthood. The breakout single “Not My Problem” became a fan favorite, with its video racking up over 14 million views on YouTube and spawning a viral SoundCloud remix challenge—culminating in a co-sign remix from Cash Cobain. The release launched Laila! into a breakout year: she embarked on her first US and EU tour, performed at festivals like Electric Picnic and Camp Flog Gnaw, and brought her ballad “Flyer Than U” to both the COLORS stage and the 2025 BET Awards.
In a world where access to technology makes it easier than ever for artists to reinterpret, and even reinvent, the genres they hold dear—Laila!—whose sound is always evolving—hungers to make an R&B all her own, and to show other young women that it is indeed possible to do it all, on your own terms.
“Laila! Has a Vision for the R&B of Tomorrow” - Rolling Stone, 2025
“How Laila! Turned Self-Doubt into Viral Hits” - BET, 2025
“Laila! Is Here To Give the Girls What They Need” - Hypebae, 2024
Pictures
