Lady Leshurr

Born in Solihull and raised between Kingshurst and Birmingham, Lady Leshurr, whose real name is Melesha O’Garro, established herself in British rap with a style rooted in grime but open to UK garage, dancehall, reggae and more pop-oriented hooks. She began writing early, came up through battle rap and local stages, and released a series of self-released mixtapes that marked her beginnings—from The Last Second and Unleshurr in 2009 to 01:21 AM in 2010, followed by Friggin L and L Day in 2011. This period secured her place on the English grime circuit, across specialist radio, clubs and festivals, alongside occasional collaborations with artists like Wiley, Kano, Orbital and Labrinth. In 2015 the Queen’s Speech freestyle series became a turning point, notably Queen’s Speech #4, which gave her much broader visibility beyond the UK. She sustained that momentum with the EP Queen’s Speech in 2016, then Mode in 2017, maintaining rapid, precise writing often marked by humour, verbal sparring and direct references to British urban culture.